President Biden announced the release of an additional 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Wednesday, before claiming that it was a desperate attempt to temporarily reduce petrol costs before the midterm elections next month.

A reporter at the White House questioned Biden, "What is your response to Republicans who claim you are only releasing this SPR to aid Democrats in the November elections?"

The president originally attempted to dismiss the question by stating, "Where have they been for the past four months? That is my reply."

It is unclear why Biden mentioned "four months," given that he initially ordered oil to be released from the reserve almost seven months ago.

Another journalist questioned, "Is it political, sir? Three weeks remain until the midterm elections.

"Look, it makes logic," Biden remarked.

How long have I been performing this task? It has nothing to do with politics," he stressed. "It motivates me to continue my efforts in the same direction as before."

"The problem is that these guys are sleeping," Biden continued, presumably referring to oil companies. "I have no idea where they have gone. They appear to believe that the price at the pump should match the price of a barrel of oil."

Ahead of the announcement, White House officials informed reporters that higher-than-usual business profits account for around 60 cents per gallon of the current price of gasoline. According to AAA data, the average price of a gallon of gas is now $3.85, up from $3.34 one year ago.

Biden stated in his remarks on Wednesday that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would be replenished when the price per barrel of oil reached $70. Former President Donald Trump attempted to add 77 million barrels to the reserve in 2020 when the price of oil was approximately $20 per barrel, but the plan was vetoed by House Democrats.

Biden stated in his statements that he had done nothing to impair U.S. oil production, even though he had taken several steps to restrict the exploration, drilling, and shipping of oil in the previous year.

"Let's refute some falsehoods here. My government has not halted or slowed oil production in the United States. "Quite the contrary," Biden stated.

The president defended his statement by stating, "We produce 12 million barrels of oil each day. And by the end of this year, we will be producing 1 million additional barrels per day than the day I entered office. In fact, we are on course to produce a record amount of oil in 2023."

Biden's critics point out that he attempted to place a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal property, rejected the Keystone XL oil pipeline project with Canada, and prohibited oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, said in a statement, "Americans know Biden has resorted to gimmicks because his anti-U.S. energy policy has led to increasing gas prices." "Democrats are responsible for the pain at the pump, record high utility bills, and increasing energy prices. The electorate is aware that Republicans are prepared to get our economy back on track, which begins with unleashing American energy."

US Oil & Gas Administration joined the pile-on by tweeting, "Gonna keep repeating this. The Biden Administration has taken dozens upon dozens of moves (over 100 to date) that make it more difficult to produce the very US barrels that the president needs to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve."

Rep. Mike Garcia tweeted, "Biden's attempt to dig himself out of this energy dilemma with our emergency oil stockpiles endangers our national security and leaves us defenseless should a disaster strike" (R-Calif.). Instead, the President should prioritize increasing domestic energy output.

"This is the Strategic Oil Reserve. It's not the political oil reservoir," Rep. Michael McCaul remarked (R-Texas). "[Biden] is using this national security asset for political gain."

Biden first ordered the release of oil from the US strategic reserve at the end of March to offset price hikes caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Biden administration officials characterized the forthcoming releases as essentially "completing" the president's plan to discharge 180 million barrels from the strategic reserve between April and September.

In December, the freshly announced release will occur. Biden stated earlier this month that he will release 10 million barrels from the reserve in November to counter OPEC+'s earlier-announced production curbs.

Approximately 400 million barrels of oil will remain in the reserve following the December release.