Biden Leaves Further SPR Releases on Table

Biden announced the expected sale of 15mn bbls of crude from the SPR yesterday which makes up the final commitment to sell 180mn bbls from its stocks over a 6-month period.

• The Department of Energy announced its intent to buy oil when WTI prices are at or below a range from $67/bbl to $72/bbl to refill the emergency stockpile.
• "That means oil companies can invest to ramp up production now, with confidence they'll be able to sell their oil to us at that price in the future," Biden said. "Refining and refilling the reserve at $70/b is a good price for companies, it's a good price for the taxpayers and it's critical to our national security."
• On potential further releases on top of the 180mn bbls from the SPR release, Biden said "I've told my team behind me here to be prepared to look for further releases in the months ahead if needed,". "We're calling it a ready and release plan. This allows us to move quickly to prevent oil price spikes and respond to international events."
• Biden insisted that his administration has not stopped or slowed domestic oil production as the country is on track for record oil production in 2023.
• Biden also warned oil companies to keep gasoline prices in line with falling crude price, "You should be using these record-breaking profits to increase production and refining." he said.