President Joe Biden took credit for knocking a few cents off of record-high oil prices after withdrawing millions of barrels from the nation’s emergency strategic petroleum reserves (SPR), but records show his Department of Energy actually timed the first drawdown of the emergency oil supply to coincide with an already forecasted decline in oil prices.
According to internal documents obtained by the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), administration officials acknowledged agency assessments that predicted a drop in oil prices ahead of the first SPR release in November 2021.
The White House announced the first withdrawal of 50 million barrels of oil from the nation’s emergency stockpile on Nov. 23, 2021, days before the Thanksgiving holiday as drivers faced sticker shock at the pump.
“Over the last 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented global economic shutdown,” read a White House press release. “As the world is re-opening from a near economic standstill, countries across the globe are grappling with the challenges that arise as consumer demand for goods outpaces supply.”
The decision came 11 months after the administration illegally suspended federal oil and gas leases, driving up oil prices to more than $80 per barrel. U.S. consumers go through 20 million barrels a day.
Three weeks prior to the presidential oil withdrawal, records show department officials discussed how oil prices were already headed for a downturn as the nation headed into the winter season.
According to an assessment from the department’s Energy
