Us Government Sells 1 Million Barrels Of Gasoline In Anticipation Of Fourth Of July Holiday.

The Biden administration has successfully completed the sale of 1 million barrels of gasoline from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, according to a statement from the White House shared with The Epoch Times on July 2.

After receiving 19 proposals from five companies since May 21, the federal government has awarded contracts to BP (500,000 barrels), Vitol (200,000 barrels), Freepoint Commodities (100,000 barrels), George E. Warren (100,000 barrels), and Irving Oil (98,824 barrels).

The gasoline reserves were sold at an average price of $2.34 per gallon.

Senior administration officials have highlighted this news as another success in the federal government’s efforts to fight inflation.

“The Biden-Harris Administration continues to take strategic action to lower prices for American consumers in every aspect of their lives, especially as the summer driving season ramps up,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “By releasing this reserve ahead of July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the Northeast at a time when hardworking Americans need it the most.”

While gasoline prices have not skyrocketed this summer, the White House is pushing to build on the various measures taken to reduce energy costs, according to national economic adviser Lael Brainard.

“Gas prices have come down nearly 20 cents in the last two months, but we know there is more to do,” said Ms. Brainard. “This release will help lower prices at the pump, building on other actions by President Biden, including historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, record energy production, and the largest-ever investment in clean energy.”

However, the cost of gas could start rising due to the recent increase in crude oil prices.

U.S. crude oil prices surpassed $83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during the July 1 trading session. The West Texas Intermediate crude oil benchmark has increased by about 17 percent year to date.

Although oil prices have cooled down since the end of April, the revival of geopolitical tensions, anticipation of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, an active hurricane season, and tight international energy markets have bolstered oil prices in recent sessions.

“Summer got off to a slow start last week with low gas demand,” said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross. “But with a record 60 million travelers forecasted to hit the road for the July 4th holiday, that number could increase significantly over the next 10 days. The question remains: Will oil prices stay above $80 a barrel or will they decrease again? Stay tuned.”

Recent figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that domestic gas inventories totaled 233.88 million barrels for the week ending June 21, which is more than a 3 percent decrease compared to the same period three years ago.

Additionally, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden tapped into the nation’s emergency oil stockpiles and utilized 180 million barrels of oil to curb prices. The White House estimates that this action reduced gas prices by approximately 80 cents.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is currently about 40 percent lower than it was in January 2021. Since reaching a bottom of 346.75 million barrels in July 2023, the U.S. government has been gradually replenishing the reserves. As of June 21, the SPR held 372.19 million barrels, which is the highest level since December 2022.

The White House has changed its stance multiple times regarding the replenishment of the SPR.

However, Energy Secretary Granholm stated in a June 28 interview with Reuters that the administration may increase the offers to replenish U.S. reserves beyond the current pace of 3 million barrels per month.

“We could pick up more than that,” she said, adding that two SPR locations in Louisiana and Texas have been undergoing maintenance. “All four sites will be back up by the end of the year, so one could imagine that the pace would increase, depending on the market.”

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established by the federal government in 1975 in response to the 1973-1974 oil embargo. Its purpose was to mitigate the effects of disruptions in global petroleum markets. Officials are authorized to withdraw from the SPR during emergencies, energy interruptions, or supply troubles.

The United States, as the world’s largest economy, consumes approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day, which means that the current reserves would only last for 18 days if production ceased.