WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden said Wednesday the United States will sell 15 million barrels from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by the year’s end and detailed a strategy to refill the stockpile when prices drop.
‘Very Concerned’: Biden’s Top Econ Adviser Sounds The Alarm Over Record-Low Fuel Stockpiles, Daily Caller reports:
White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said Wednesday that the Biden administration is worried about diesel shortage.
Deese told Bloomberg Surveillance that the White House is “very concerned” about national stockpiles of refined fuel products and diesel shortages in particular. The economic director also said that the Biden administration is keeping all options on the table to refill U.S. fuel stockpiles, including banning oil companies’ exports to Europe and other countries.
“We need to see the [oil and gas] industry build those inventory levels,” Deese said. “We have to keep all options on the table,” says White House NEC Director Brian Deese on an oil export ban
National stocks of distillate fuel oil, which is processed into diesel and other fuels, are at their lowest levels since 2008 which is causing the Biden administration to consider “emergency measures,” to curb fuel exports. However, industry groups and Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods warned in October that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm that limiting exports could hurt supply and hike prices.
National diesel prices have been rising for over two weeks and are close to historic highs, according to the EIA. Diesel powers numerous industries and its prices affect the costs of winter heating as well as transportation costs. Deese said that shortages were most pronounced on the East Coast where stockpiles in New England and the Central Atlantic are nearing all-time lows.
He also said that the administration could tap the Northeast’s emergency diesel reserve if stockpiles do not increase quickly enough.