Republican members on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee recently requested information from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on its management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
“We are concerned that DOE is rapidly depleting the nation’s petroleum reserves ahead of elections in November, while failing to establish long-term plans for the optimal size, configuration, maintenance, and operational capabilities of the reserves,” wrote E&C Committee Ranking Member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and E&C Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member Fred Upton (R-MI) in a June 2 letter sent to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR) — which are to be used in emergencies such as wars or natural disasters — have been depleted under the Biden administration, and the members wrote they are concerned that the SPR and NEHHOR may have difficulty meeting their energy security missions under Granholm’s leadership.
“The SPR inventory has dropped to the lowest level since 1987, and President Biden is now reportedly considering additional drawdowns from NEHHOR,” they wrote. “It is imperative that DOE maintain the nation’s petroleum reserves in a manner that does not limit our ability to prevent or reduce the adverse impacts of true energy supply shortages.”
At the same time, Reps. McMorris Rodgers and Upton also pointed out that China is rapidly strengthening energy ties with Russia and expanding its own strategic petroleum reserves with cheap Russian oil.
“As you know, in November 2021, President Biden announced a 50-million-barrel release from the SPR that was supposed to be in tandem with other importing countries, including China,” they wrote. “In reality, China ramped up its purchases of crude oil from Russia and the United States to boost its own reserves, even as oil prices surged and President Biden called for a coordinated release.”
The congressmen requested that Granholm answer several questions by June 16, such as what effect the recent SPR releases have had on U.S. gasoline prices; how many barrels of SPR crude oil have been exported to foreign countries; and what plans exist to refill the SPR and NEHHOR, among others.