About 3 in 5 Voters Support Strategic Petroleum Reserve Oil Release

In his latest effort to lower energy costs across the nation, President Joe Biden announced last week that he wouldrelease an additional 15 million barrels of crudefrom the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an earlier planned release of180 million barrels total. While the move won’t happen until December, a new Morning Consult/Politicosurveyfinds more than half of U.S. voters support releasing oil from the SPR.

Among several gas price measures, Republicans have high levels of support for increasing domestic crude supply, while Democrats favor the targeting of oil companies

• 选民总体来说,57%支持释放石油from the SPR, including 70% of Democrats and 48% of Republicans.
• The survey also included other measures to reduce gas prices, with a ban on price gouging as the most popular provision among voters (76%).
• Republicans were most supportive of domestic supply policies like asking domestic producers to pump more oil (77%) and opening up public lands for drilling (76%).
• 与此同时,4 5民主党支持companies by banning price gouging and asking oil majors to lower prices.
• The least popular measure was asking oil-exporting countries like Iran, Iraq and Venezuela to pump more oil, with support from only 46% of voters, including 36% of Republicans and 58% of Democrats.

Biden’s SPR plans receive cool reception from Republicans, oil industry

The Biden administration’s December release of15 million barrels of crudefrom the Strategic Petroleum Reserve comes amid rising energy costs just before the midterm elections.

The SPR acts as an emergency supply of crude for the nation and can hold up to714 million barrelsinunderground salt cavernsalong the Gulf Coast. As of last week, officials said the SPR held about 400 millions barrels of crude.

The move in March announcing the release of 180 million barrelsdid not do muchto stifle sky-high gasoline prices this summer. The most recent announcement has largely beencriticized by Republicans, who tend to favor domestic production policies and are using high energy prices to sway voters. Meanwhile, Democrats have praised the recent release as they face midterms that have the potential to reshape Congress while having to quell voter concerns about inflation and cost of living.

But while Biden has promised to refill the reserve when oil prices hit between $67 and $72 a barrel or less, hoping that producers will drill more, higher drilling costs and lower short-term crude prices arenot sparking much drilling interest from oil companies.

Oil industry trade groups and companies have also largelycome out in opposition to a possible fuel export ban, which would theoretically help refill the reserve, although the Energy Department said such a measure was not being considered currently but has not been completely ruled out.

Prices surged this year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while most recently the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, including Russia,voted to curtail production by 2 million barrels per dayin an attempt to boost the oil market.

The latest Morning Consult/Politicosurveywas conducted Oct. 21-23, 2022, among a representative sample of 2,005 registered voters, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.