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The White House announced plans to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — a step meant to blunt rising gas prices looming over the midterm elections. The US will offer to loan energy producers up to 40 million barrels of oil, which is what remains of the 172 million-barrel commitment the government made in March. The White House is also urging the European Union to draw down emergency diesel inventories to lower global prices. Patrick De Haan, an energy analyst who runs GasBuddy, said neither approach will likely “move the needle much” on prices. A similar offer to tap reserves in June attracted little interest, with just half a million barrels awarded. De Haan added that strapped refinery capacity is driving higher prices, rather than oil supply. He said meaningful relief requires “solving the issues that have created this environment: addressing the geopolitical tensions.”
document fetched 2026-09-30 03:01 · canonical https://semafor.com/article/09/29/2026/white-house-taps-strategic-petroleum-reserve