U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will reportedly release millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves with cooperation from Britain, South Korea, India, China, and Japan to reduce crude prices. The announcement comes after OPEC+ producers repeatedly disregarded calls for additional crude.
Biden expressed he is disappointed at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its Allies (OPEC+) for failing to respond to his repeated requests for more oil. He mentioned they will reduce their dependence on oil as they shift to clean energy.
Crude oil prices have surged significantly, with consumers feeling the pinch. Retail gasoline prices rose by over 60% the previous year due to the lifting of pandemic-induced restrictions and recovery in demand.
The United States intends to release 50 million barrels, whereas India said it will allow 5 million barrels, and Britain will release 1.5 million barrels of oil from privately held reserves. Japan will auction around 4.2 million barrels of oil from its national stockpile by the year-end, sources cited.
South Korea and China did not yet disclose the amount of oil they will release. Seoul stated that it will finalize its decision after consulting with the U.S. and other allies.
At its monthly meetings, OPEC+, comprising Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other U.S. allies in the Gulf, turned down calls to pump more. The group has been falling short of meeting its target of boosting output by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) each month under its existing agreements.
An OPEC+ source said that releasing reserves will make calculations more difficult for the group, which monitors the market every month. Meanwhile, market analysts and OPEC+ expressed the release is not as significant as the headline statistic suggests.
The group will meet again on 2nd December to discuss policy, but there has been no indication that it will shift course.
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