(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is ordering the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve for six months, the White House said Thursday, in a bid to control energy prices that have spiked amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Biden will deliver remarks on his administration’s plans to combat the rising gas prices. NewsNation will livestream Biden’s remarks in the player above.
Prices at the pump were rising long before Russia invaded Ukraine and have spiraled faster since the start of the war. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline has soared in the past month and topped $4.22 on Thursday, according to auto club AAA.
Energy prices have spiked as the U.S. and its allies announced a plethora of sanctions against the Russian government and oligarchs over the course of the last month.
The move by Biden shows that oil remains a key vulnerability for the U.S. at home and abroad. Higher prices have crushed Biden’s approval domestically, while also adding billions of dollars to the Russian war chest as it wages war on Ukraine. The release of reserves could create pressures that could reduce oil prices, though Biden has already twice ordered releases from the strategic reserves without causing a meaningful shift in oil markets.
According to the Department of Energy, which manages it, more than 568 million barrels of oil were held in the reserve as of Friday.
