Experts weigh in on Biden’s decision to release 50 million barrels of oil to lower gas prices; Moving in history Most likely won’t make much of a difference

Some energy industry experts weighed in on President Biden’s decision to release 50 million barrels of oil from the country’s strategic reserves in order to reduce rising gasoline prices.

And most don’t think that will help much.

Philip Walsh, professor of entrepreneurship and strategy at Ryerson University in Toronto and principal investigator at the university’s Center for Urban Energy. told Newsweek.

“First of all, 50 million barrels of oil are consumed in less than three days in the United States, and the oil market is not limited to gasoline production,” he added.

“Heating oil and oil-based power generation will also compete for that surplus supply,” he said.

Furthermore, gas prices “are influenced by oil prices driven by the balance of supply and demand,” Walsh said.

So any short-term impact on gasoline prices from the release of oil from the US Strategic Reserve will depend on how quickly that oil enters the US energy system and with daily quantity.

Newsweek added:

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced in a statement Tuesday that companies will be able to submit oil bids until December 6, with contracts awarded no later than December 14.

The oil will be delivered between January and April 2022, “with early deliveries accepted by the end of December.”

Walsh noted on Wednesday that “the overnight trading reaction to this announcement and similar announcements from other countries around the world has resulted in higher oil contract trading prices.”

Professor Dirk Buschle, Iberdrola Manuel Marin chair of European Energy and Climate Policy at the European University in Belgium, said: journal.

“Since energy prices can remain volatile for some time, governments should be careful not to see this type of intervention as the rule rather than the exception,” he warned.

Devin Gladden, a spokesman for the American Automobile Association, said that the release could have some impact but it would be minimal.

“While we will see some fading, we do not expect this to have a lasting impact. But it will certainly have an impact,” Gladden said.

Newsweek notes: “GasBuddy, a company that aggregates real-time gas prices across the country, showed gas prices averaging around $3.40 a gallon as of November 24.”

Late last month, Republicans began assessing Biden for rising gas prices, essentially, as a new tax on Americans, hitting those with the lowest wages.

“Nothing is more expensive today than gasoline,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in a statement. “And it doesn’t have to be. As gasoline became more expensive, the people who really hurt were the less fortunate, the people with less money. It literally takes away their children’s food.”

“As we look toward Thanksgiving, it will be the most expensive Thanksgiving in history for Americans,” he added. “But the real challenge is happening here. Those are the policies of this new administration. “

Daily Caller News Organization to add:

Since July, energy prices have skyrocketed in the US and abroad with both oil and natural gas hitting multi-year highs. Heating costs could even increase by as much as 54 percent for Americans this winter and could be even higher depending on how cold it is, the EIA projects October 13.

Meanwhile, gasoline prices rebounded on Wednesday, hitting a national average of $3.39 per gallon, according to the AAA database, and soaring to $7.50 per gallon in some areas. area. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data shows that the last time Americans paid more than $3.40 per gallon at the pump was in September 2014.