December 6, 2022: The Biden administration is considering wiping additional heating and crude oil resources as winter is near and uncertainty more than market prices worsens, said the four people familiar with the matter. 

The U.S. currently holds approximately 1 million barrels of heating oil, a diesel fuel utilized primarily to heat homes in three commercially leased locations in New York and Connecticut. According to two related sources, the White House is considering whether to reach out to Congress to increase the storage limit, potentially growing it to build additional resources the administration could release if it tightens or prices increase again.

“While boosting, industry-held fuel inventories are below average, and the administration keeps going to engage with industry on asking them to increase fuel stocks,” the Department of Energy added in a statement. “The administration keeps up with the work with lawmakers and industry to recognize all options that help American consumers.”

According to Energy Information Administration, industry heating oil inventories have increased in the latest weeks, now sitting 10% below the five-year average. But with a 54% rise in heating oil prices last year, any hiccup in supply means a headache for consumers.

Meanwhile, crude oil had dropped to prices in the previous seen in early 2022 before Russia, which is Ukraine, leading to speculation that the administration could transfer to replenish the stocks, being at half the total capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the lowest level from the mid-1980s.

But the White House browses for a potential price spike, with Europe’s oil embargo and the G7′s price cap on Russian oil disrupting supply, which goes into effect in the complete week. Two aged administration officials say the state is open to additional fat from the reserves in early 2023.

“I think we should ensure that we take the exact steps in a measured way,” Amos Hochstein, a senior energy officer to President Joe Biden, stated.” “The goal has been consistent with having prices that are fair to the industry but also the consumers.”

The White House could encounter additional pressure from a Republican-led House of Representatives to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when the recent Congress begins its areas in January. The top Republicans on the House Energy & Commerce Committee stating the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s decrease level was becoming a national security risk.