WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve created after Superstorm Sandy in an effort to lower prices at the pump this summer.
The sales, from storage locations in New Jersey and Maine, will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. The approach will create a competitive bidding process that will ensure gasoline can flow to local retailers before the July 4 holiday and be sold at competitive prices, the Energy Department said.
The move, which the department said is intended to “lower costs for American families and consumers,” follows a mandate from Congress to sell and then close the decade-old Northeast Reservation. The language was included in a spending deal approved in March to avoid a partial government shutdown.
The Energy Department said the sale was timed to provide relief to motorists as the summer driving season begins.
Gasoline prices nationally are averaging about $3.60 per gallon, up 6 cents from a year ago, according to AAA. Tapping into gasoline reserves is one of the few actions a president can take on his own to try to control inflation, an obligation for the party that controls the White House in election years.
“The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for the summer driving season,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. “By strategically releasing this reserve between Memorial and the Fourth of July, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-states and the Northeast at a time when hardworking Americans need it most.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the release of gas from the Northeast Reserve builds on actions by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, “to reduce gas and energy costs – including historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the largest investment ever in clean energy.”
Biden significantly depleted the strategic petroleum reserve in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sending supplies down to their lowest level since the 1980s. The election-year move helped stabilize gasoline prices that had risen in the wake of the war in Europe, but also led to complaints from Republicans that the Democratic president was playing politics with a reserve meant for national emergencies.
The Biden administration has since started replenishing oil reserves, which last week contained more than 367 million barrels of crude. The total is lower than pre-war levels between Russia and Ukraine, but still the world’s largest emergency stockpile of crude oil.
Sales in the Northeast require fuel to be transferred or delivered by June 30, the Energy Department said.
Republicans in Congress have long criticized the Northeast Reserve, which was established by former President Barack Obama, saying such a stockpile should have been created by Congress. A 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office said the gasoline reserve, which has never been tapped, would provide minimal relief during a severe shortage. Maintaining the reserve costs approximately $19 million per year.
