In April 2022, The White House celebrates The Biden administration sold the first 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) of what will eventually be 180 million barrels, in what seemed at the time an unprecedented move for an election year.
In May, the Department of Energy similarly celebrated the SPR’s planned sale of 1 million barrels from the NGSR, from Perth Amboy to Boston, aimed at lowering gas prices over the summer.
Fox News Digital dug deeper into the numbers to see whether the administration’s critics have any basis for claiming that Biden is wielding U.S. oil reserves as a cudgel in an unprecedented election year, rather than simply to save Americans money on travel.
The findings revealed that the SPR experienced its steepest decline during Biden’s tenure, with former presidents Biden, Trump and Clinton overseeing the largest reserve declines in history.
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In the 2022 case, after Siberia was no longer recognized as a source of fuel for the United States, a White House announcement blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine for contributing to the rise in oil prices due to supply disruptions.
But Republicans, including former President Trump, blamed Biden for canceling a transcontinental pipeline project and executive actions that affected energy production in Alaska and other places, causing gasoline prices to soar from about $2 a gallon under the previous administration.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said this year’s sale was evidence of the administration’s “focus” on reducing costs for consumers, especially ahead of the summer travel season.
“By strategically releasing our stockpile between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, we will ensure that three states and the Northeast have adequate supplies at a time when hardworking Americans need them most,” Granholm said in a statement.
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According to figures revealed by Fox News, the SPR has depleted more under Biden than at any time since it began full operation during the Carter administration (it was established as an energy security measure after the 1973 oil crisis).
After the 1980 election, the SPR hit a record high of 112.5 million barrels in January 1981, and grew to nearly 450 million barrels by the end of President Ronald Reagan’s term in January 1989. As of 2023, the SPR’s maximum production capacity is 714 million barrels.
Both Bush presidents increased SPR production capacity: George H. W. Bush added 13.8 million barrels, and his son, who announced a full commitment to building up the stockpile after 9/11, had added a net 162 million barrels by January 2009.
21 million barrels were depleted during Operation Desert Storm, and 11 million barrels were used after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated coastal oil refineries.
Every president since, including Clinton, has seen the reserves depleted under his watch.
The Arkansas Democrat projected a net decrease of 33.7 million barrels, while the Trump administration predicted a drop of about 57 million barrels.
Biden more than quadrupled that figure from January to March 2021, for a net reduction of 274 million barrels, but that doesn’t include sales announced by the administration in May.
President Obama also saw the SPR cut by about 9 million barrels during his term.
According to a Fox News analysis, presidentially ordered releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have been rare, such as after Desert Storm and Hurricane Katrina, and have essentially only occurred in “emergency release” scenarios.
A 2022 Congressional Research Service report after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine argued that such drawdowns of SPR reserves were permissible and should not necessarily be seen as politically motivated.
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Congress itself is permitted to mandate the sale of oil reserves from time to time to fund legislative priorities.
But this time, Republicans in Congress are accusing Biden of politicizing U.S. energy security in an election year.
In a scathing letter to Granholm, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the top Republicans on their respective energy committees, accused Biden of doing just that.
“Under President Biden, the SPR reached its lowest level since 1983. The Department of Energy oversaw the largest-ever sales totaling 290 million barrels. When President Biden took office in January 2021, the SPR contained 638 million barrels of oil,” they said.
“Currently, there are 367 million barrels of oil in the SPR, which represents a decline of about 42% since President Biden took office.”
The lawmakers criticized Biden’s 2022 announcement as “a clear attempt to influence the midterm elections and distract attention from the Biden Administration’s failed energy policy.”
In an apparent attempt to prevent politicization, Rep. McMorris-Rogers authored the Strategic Production Response Act, which would limit cuts to the SPR until Congress has oversight and prohibit depletion for “non-emergency purposes.” The bill passed the House.
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When Trump tried to do the opposite and meet the SPR when oil prices were at their lowest at $24 a barrel, he was blocked by Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) praised the blockade at the time, arguing that removing the provision from the bill “would eliminate a $3 billion bailout for Big Oil companies.”
But the White House voiced opposition to the McMorris-Rogers bill, arguing it would “severely weaken critical energy security measures.”
“This Administration’s use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been essential to ensuring energy security and lowering gasoline prices for Americans,” the White House said in 2023.
The Department of Energy and the White House did not respond to requests for further comment for this article.
Fox News’ Mark Bentley contributed to this report..
