WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. government will continue taking steps to release additional output from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as needed and then replenish the reserve, a senior U.S. energy adviser said on Wednesday.
President Joe Biden has been clear that he will continue to work to bring down prices for American consumers after a spike in energy prices from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, adviser Amos Hochstein said in an interview with CNN.
Biden is due to make remarks on gas prices on Wednesday, including announcing another selloff from the nation’s emergency oil reserve.
“The president’s going to keep a careful eye on announcing today that whatever we’re doing today could continue and see additional SPR releases – if necessary,” Hochstein said.
“The president’s also going to be announcing that we are going to replenish the SPR,” he said.
In addition to announcing a new SPR release, Biden will announce that the federal government plans to replenish the fund, buying back oil it sold for $100 at a price around $70.
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“And that’s critical, because that’s what the industry in the United States needs to know in order to invest today in increasing production,” Hochstein said.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Porter)