Biden administration still unclear about whether it’s draining or refilling energy stockpile

The Biden administration is once again sending mixed signals as to whether it’s refilling or further draining the nation’s energy stockpiles. 

Amos Hochstein, energy adviser to President Joe Biden, told the Financial Times that gasoline prices were too high for Americans and he wanted to see it knocked down a bit. He said the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has enough capacity to tap should it be necessary to bring down prices. 

Biden began draining the SPR in March 2022 in order to bring down prices at the pump ahead of the midterm elections. The SPR held just over 638 million barrels when Biden took office, according to the Energy Information Administration, and it’s since dropped below 375 million barrels as of this month, the lowest level since the 1980s.

The Department of Energy has been issuing oil buys in a bid to refill the stockpile, while boasting it’s refilled nearly 40 million barrels so far.  In March, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the SPR would be filled by the end of 2024. 

Contradicting Granholm’s projections, Hochstein said in May that the SPR could be used to bring down gasoline prices.