Source: Global Times [Global Times Special Correspondent Zhen Xiang] The White House disclosed on the 18th that President Biden is scheduled to announce the latest measures aimed at calming domestic oil prices on the 19th, including releasing 15 million barrels of oil from its st

Source: Global Times

[Global Times Special Correspondent Zhen Xiang] The White House disclosed on the 18th that President Biden is scheduled to announce the latest measures aimed at calming domestic oil prices on the 19th, including releasing 15 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves.

AP 19 quoted White House officials as saying that Biden is scheduled to officially announce the release of 15 million barrels of crude oil from the US national strategic oil reserves to the market on the same day, as one of the measures to deal with the recent decision of major oil-producing countries to significantly reduce crude oil production from November. According to reports, at the end of March this year, Biden announced that he would release 1 million barrels (180 million barrels) of strategic oil reserves per day within six months to deal with the soaring energy prices caused by the situation in Ukraine. The above 15 million barrels are the last batch of the 180 million barrels of strategic oil reserves. The above-mentioned official revealed that Biden will also say that the U.S. government is ready to release more oil reserves once the situation requires it.

US public opinion believes that the Biden administration's move has two main purposes. First, it is to respond to the decision of " OPEC +" to announce an average daily output of 2 million barrels of crude oil in early October to stabilize domestic oil prices in the United States; second, it is to alleviate the pressure on the Democratic midterm elections, and inflation is obviously the issue that voters are most concerned about at present. According to the Associated Press, according to the analysis of the US Energy Research Institute, in the November midterm elections, the election situation between Nevada and Pennsylvania may become the key to changing the current Democratic and Republican situation in the Senate, and these two states are exactly "sensitive" to energy prices.

The Associated Press said that the U.S. releases oil reserves to effectively stabilize the rising trend of oil prices may be just a drop in the bucket. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 15 million barrels of crude oil are even less than the US market's daily use. At present, the United States has about 400 million barrels left in its strategic reserves, the lowest level since 1984.

The United States announced the release of oil reserves, which came as the U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia caused a storm due to the "OPEC+" oil production cut decision. According to AFP 18, the "Future Investment Initiative" conference, known as " Davos Forum in the Desert" and closely related to the Saudi royal family, will open in Riyadh , the capital of Saudi Arabia on October 25, but the conference organizer revealed that Saudi Arabia did not invite US government officials to attend the meeting this year.