Hang on. That question probably answers itself…

…but I’m taking a shot at it anyway.

Last October, President Biden had yet another one of his blustery, incoherent moments and, unchallenged by any media there at the time, let the oil industry have it.

The most striking aspect of President Joe Biden’s press engagement Wednesday related to his announced release of another 15 million barrels of oil from the national Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was the question that was not asked by any of the reporters in the room.

In his statement, Biden scolded U.S. oil companies: “My message to the American energy companies is this: You should not be using your profits to buy back stock or for dividends,” he said. “Not now. Not while a war is raging.”

“You should be using these record-breaking profits to increase production and refining.”

This raises several key questions, but the most obvious one is this: If “a war is raging,” why would the president of the United States deplete the volumes of crude oil contained in the SPR? Unfortunately, no one in the room thought to ask this crucial question.

Leaving aside that he’s done everything in his power to bring oil “production” to a grinding halt making his blow-hard act a lie on its face, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was never meant to be his personal petrol piggy bank/get-out-of-high-gas-prices-Jail-Free card. But that’s what he’s used it for repeatedy. The most galling part of all is how he’s sold a good portion of it offshore to our adversaries, propping up their own war machines and economies.

…Jeff Eshelman, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), put it well in a statement: “The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is meant to protect consumers against emergency supply disruptions, not politicians during an election year. [Biden’s withdrawal] not only reduces our capacity to protect ourselves in case of a true emergency in the future, but also increases America’s reliance on the politically volatile countries that currently provide most of our oil.”

When Biden sells SPR oil to, for example, Chinese state actors when we could be refilling it while pumping our own, you have to wonder what the game is. Perhaps “10% to the Big Guy” comes into play?

…“We are continuing oversight of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) depletion of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). According to DOE, the Biden Administration recently sold almost a million barrels of SPR oil to Unipec America, a subsidiary of Sinopec, a company owned by the Chinese Communist Party. In addition to concerns with Hunter Biden, the President’s son, receiving money from the deal, the decision to sell to Unipec is troubling because Chinese firms are supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In order to ensure the American people that the Biden Administration is properly managing the sale of critical assets from the SPR and not supporting Russia by providing oil to China, we request a briefing and documents related to this matter,” wrote the Republican lawmakers.

People were starting to get a little ansty at the thought of The Big Guy depleting a national asset for his own purposes, and right around election time, too. Just didn’t look good, although how dare one question the motives – THERE’S A WAR RAGING! When Biden announced another draw at this October press conference, the reserves level was already getting a smidge too low for comfort compared to where they should be.

…When Biden assumed office, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data shows that the SPR contained more than 638 million barrels of oil. After 11 months of Biden’s various withdrawal programs, the volume at the end of July sat at about 468 million barrels. Today, it’s at just over 400 million, and it will go lower in the weeks to come.

What a difference a couple months and holding on to the Senate seemed to make. The administration heaved a collective sigh of relief, told everyone to hold their shorts, cool their jets, and yes – they were going to get started refilling the SPR. With lovely, expensive foreign oil and they’re not in any big hurry (It’s gonna take a bit.). While handing out another couple million barrels on the side because section of what was built of the Keystone Pipeline sprung a leak, but no worries! ‘S’all good.

The Biden administration announced plans Friday to provide nearly 2 million barrels of oil to refineries through an emergency exchange and simultaneously begin efforts to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve early next year.

The new emergency exchange is aimed at addressing “potential supply disruptions” caused by the shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline due to a leak earlier this month, the Energy Department said. Part of that key pipeline remains shuttered and no timeline has been issued for a full reopening.

Emergency exchanges allow oil refineries to borrow oil from the SPR for a short period due to supply disruptions such as hurricanes or pipeline outages. Unlike with emergency sales such as the record-setting release of 180 million barrels announced in March, this oil must be returned.

…The Energy Department is planning to solicit bids to repurchase up to 3 million barrels of oil for the SPR to be delivered in February, the senior administration official said. The repurchase will pilot a new approach to buy back the oil at a fixed price, the official said.

“Small but a signal that pledges to refill are credible,” former Obama energy official Jason Bordoff said on Twitter in response to the new steps.

The senior administration official conceded it will take months or even years to refill the SPR, whose stockpiles are at the lowest level in 38 years.

180M bbls in March and they’re going to replace it 3M bbls at a time, while still draining it 15M bbls at a pop. That’s Joe Biden Democratic equity math for you, right there.

Now, here we are in the New Year, January 2023. If you think I’m leading up to a big finale, you’re right.

Guess what’s not going to happen?

You got it. Or…didn’t, as it turns out.

The U.S. Department of Energy has rejected the first batch of bids from oil companies to resupply a small amount of oil to the nation’s emergency crude oil stockpile in February, according to a DOE spokesperson.

The DOE last month had said it would purchase up to 3 million barrels for delivery to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in February, the first buy since last year’s record 180-million-barrel release to tame U.S. pump prices.

“Following review of the initial submission, DOE will not be making any award selections for the February delivery window,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The price wasn’t “right.” The administration thinks they can set the price of oil they buy in a market that’s as tight as it is, even during the dips that recession and inflation scares have caused. They want to pay $70 bbl. Oil’s at $75 right now.

And where does this leave the SPR, again, our EMERGENCY reserves?

At 372,380 bbls.

IF the US were forced to rely on the SPR for all of our energy needs, it would last 18 days.. Down from 36 before joe started. pic.twitter.com/8tCo1CI0nq

— Frog Capital (@FrogNews) January 9, 2023

Want do you think the chances of it staying at $75 bbl are?

China Signals Surge In Oil Demand With 20% Increase In Refiner Oil Import Quotas https://t.co/qDJn4b2KfH

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 9, 2023

Yeah.

YEAH.

I’d read a bit ago that one of the items a McCarthy Congress was going to take up was going to be restricting sales of SPR oil.

…Now, the GOP is pushing back. The party is slated to take up two bills aimed at future oil releases: one that would prevent new releases of SPR oil unless there is a plan in place for more energy development on the nation’s public lands and another that would seek to prevent oil from U.S. reserves from ending up in China.

Like, they’d better get a good leg under them and get moving.