US Could Reopen Strategic Oil Reserve Soon, Biden Adviser Says

A top Biden administration adviser suggested the United States has ‘enough in the SPR if it’s necessary.’

The Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an oil storage facility, is seen in this aerial photograph over Freeport, Texas, on April 27, 2020. Adrees Latif/Reuters

The Biden administration may again release oil from the U.S. strategic stockpile to deal with any spike in gas prices over the summer, a top White House aide says.

Amos Hochstein, an economic and energy adviser to President Joe Biden, told the Financial Times in an exclusive interview that the administration could use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to bring down gas prices. The administration released about 180 million barrels from the reserve in 2021 and 2022 ahead of the midterm elections and amid the war in Ukraine.