The Trump administration is moving to reverse yet another misguided Biden policy. The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced new contracts to purchase millions of barrels of crude oil to begin replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR was drawn down to a 40-year low in an effort to reduce gas prices leading up to the 2022 elections. The Biden administration initially pledged to refill it, but later backed out of those plans, leaving the SPR some 300 million barrels below its capacity.
For the Trump administration, this is another promise made, promise kept. "President Trump promised to protect America's energy security by refilling and managing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve more responsibly," said Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a statement. "Awarding these contracts marks another step in the important process of refilling this national security asset."
Karr Ingham, president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, says Biden's depletion of the SPR to impact domestic gas prices was a misuse of the reserves in the first place. "There's not much reason to have half or a significant chunk of (the SPR) sitting empty unless it has been drawn down for a viable purpose," he tells KTRH. "It was not, and we need to fill that thing back up again."
The new purchases are also cost-effective, with crude oil hovering around $60 a barrel. "Look, producers are not very happy with the price of crude oil right now, but it's a bargain for the government," says Ingham. "It's a move that makes sense right now, so it's a good time to do that."
"At the same time, it does provide a little upside support potentially for the industry, because it provides a market for those barrels of crude oil and gives them a place to go."
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