By Michael Bielawski
Gas prices for Vermont are noted in the media as being stable, but some sources are not discussing the causes. One reason may be that President Biden is depleting the nation’s oil reserves.
“Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.42 per gallon, down 6 cents per gallon from last week, down 16 cents/g from last month and down 17 cents/g from last year. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.12/g in Rutland, while the highest was $3.89/g in Island Pond,” GasBuddy reported on Thursday.
The report continues that prices are also low in the Burlington area. It reports, “Average gasoline prices in Burlington have fallen 3.0 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.48/g today, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 100 stations in Burlington. Prices in Burlington are 16.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 12.1 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.”
NASDAQ is reporting that oil prices currently are being impacted by President Biden’s decision to tap into national oil reserves.
“This approach first began in response to the surge in oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the time, President Biden ordered the release of 180 million barrels from the SPR to stabilize crude prices and lower gasoline prices for American consumers,” the report states.
“new plans to dip into the reserves”
It continues that now the reserves are now being further tapped into. It states, “While the reserve now sits partially depleted, the president has made new plans to dip into the reserves to push prices lower and offset summer driving costs.”
The report further gets into how the purpose of these reserves is to help the nation withstand an unforeseen disruption in oil supply for any number of reasons often dealing with international politics. It’s also seen as an effort to strengthen the nation’s energy independence.
The GasBuddy report indicates that nationwide gas prices are also falling. It states, “The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1 cent per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.44/g today. The national average is down 13 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 11 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.”
Holding the economy steady
Energy.gov is reporting that the money from the reserves is being used to alleviate taxpayer burden. The administration claims they have a plan to refill the reserves.
They write, “To date, DOE has purchased a total of 38.60 million barrels of oil for the SPR for an average price of $77.24 as well as accelerated nearly 4 million barrels of exchange returns, pursuant to its strategy to refill the SPR. DOE will continue to evaluate options to refill the SPR while securing a good deal for taxpayers, taking into account planned exchange returns and market developments.”
“unprecedented election year move”
Some accuse the White House of using the reserves as a boost for Biden’s chances in the 2024 presidential election. A Fox News report suggested as much.
“In April 2022, the White House celebrated the Biden administration’s sale of the first 30 million of an eventual 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which seemed an unprecedented election year move at the time. In May, the Energy Department similarly celebrated a planned liquidation of 1 million barrels from the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR), a Perth Amboy-to-Boston contingent of the SPR, aimed at lowering summertime gas prices.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle