Grand Canyon Times

With the goal of bringing down gas prices for American consumers, President Joe Biden announced the use of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) crude oil on March 31. In an editorial piece for Forbes, Robert Rapier claims the Biden administration’s depletion of the SPR is a political move during an election year, and does not adhere to the administration’s policy on reducing carbon emissions. Additionally, gas prices have reduced since tapping the SPR but are beginning to rise again in Arizona.

On March 31, Biden declared the release of up to 180 million barrels of crude oil from the nation's SPR over a six-month period, in his attempt to reduce rising fuel costs. The president said there would be a minor delay in declining gas prices by days and weeks, but the prices would eventually go down by an undetermined amount.

“But even though the Biden administration wants to address rising carbon emissions, high gasoline prices cause incumbents to lose elections. So, they try to tame gasoline prices even though it contradicts one of their key objectives of reducing carbon emissions,” Rapier wrote in an op-ed for Forbes.

Meanwhile, Biden asserted that climate issues should be a top priority. 

“It is the policy of my administration that climate considerations shall be an essential element of United States foreign policy and national security,” he said.

As of April 1, the SPR held 564.58 million barrels of oil in stock, and as of Sept. 23, the SPR inventory stood at 422.58 million barrels of oil, a decrease of 142 million barrels since Biden's initial release. In his op-ed for Forbes, Rapier called Biden’s decision to tap into the SPR a “gamble” in that he must hope the U.S. does not encounter a foreign oil supply crisis, which the SPR was started to address. At its highest in 2010, the SPR reached 726.6 million barrels. It is now below 450 million barrels, the lowest in almost 40 years. In the past, the U.S. has become more reliant on its own oil production, such as in 2021, the U.S. was a net exporter of crude oil, which some suggest the SPR is not as needed.

Rapier asserts that historically, Democrats have decreased the SPR far more than Republicans. Both President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama depleted the SPR to reduce high gas prices during election years. Some note the SPR is unnecessary due to America's energy security but Rapier accuses Biden of using the SPR to help his party win in 2022. Biden revealed that he will refill the SPR, which Rapier predicts will happen after the 2024 elections.

The most recent Gasoline Misery Index, which tracks how much more (or less) the average American consumer will have to spend on gasoline on an annualized basis, reports that the average American is spending around $319 more on gas this year when compared to the same time a year ago. The Gas Misery Index also says that Americans are spending $771 more on gas today than when Biden took office.

Although gas prices have gone down in the last few months, the AAA revealed that the national average is going up as the supply becomes more limited and demand increases. The AAA notes drivers should prepare for higher prices returning, due to limited distribution during Hurricane Ian and increasing crude oil prices. Since Sept. 22, Arizona has seen one of the largest increases in gas prices. Arizona’s state gas price average has increased 29 cents for an average of $4.429 per gallon.