More than 5 million barrels of oil, as part of the Biden administration’s release from America’s oil reserves, were exported to China, according to a Reuters report.
The release of oil from American reserves was intended to help ease the pain at the pump, but gasoline prices across the country continue to climb. In addition, the release of oil is reportedly draining American oil reserves, according to the Institute for Energy Research, which noted that China has now surpassed the United States as the world’s largest oil refiner this year. About one million barrels of oil per day are being released from oil reserves, according to Reuters.
“Crude and fuel prices would likely be higher if (the SPR releases) hadn’t happened, but at the same time, it isn’t really having the effect that was assumed,” stated Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler.
The Biden administration has since endured heavy criticism for its failure to ease the climb of gas prices, as well as its exportation of American oil to China, a major adversary of the United States. The American Energy Alliance reportedly came out on Twitter slamming the administration, calling the current situation “Beyond parody.”
According to the Reuters report, the United States is also sending oil to Italy, which then continues to send oil to the Netherlands, central Europe, and India.
President Joe Biden tried to redirect the blame for high gas prices onto the oil companies for not lowering their prices, which drew criticism from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Twitter:
“Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics.”
Inflation has steadfastly remained a problem for many Americans, with prices in all areas of the market rising rapidly, the most damaging of these being the grocery bill for many. Wages may be increasing, but the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is at 8.6%, the highest since December 1981. With Americans’ purchasing power decreasing, the financial burden is sure to hurt many Americans in more ways than just the gas pump.
(READ MORE: Romer: ‘The Secret Success of Biden’s Economic Policy’)
Republican lawmakers continued to bash Biden’s energy policies on social media. Senator Ted Cruz tweeted: “The price of fuel for airlines just hit a record high. It’s up 96% from pre-COVID. Biden needs to stop his war on domestic energy!”
“If reports are accurate, it is OUTRAGEOUS that Biden is sending millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to countries like China. The American people deserve to know why they are paying $5 a gallon for gas while our emergency reserves are sent overseas,” Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) tweeted.
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) echoed the same sentiment: “Just when I thought Joe Biden’s energy policies couldn’t get any worse, his administration is reportedly shipping America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves to Communist China while hardworking Americans continue to pay $5 for a gallon of gas. C’mon man!”
In a statement to Breitbart, House Oversight and Reform Ranking member Rep. James Comer said that when Republicans take control of the House they plan to investigate the Biden administration’s move to sell oil reserves to “a Chinese state-owned gas company that has financial ties to a private equity firm cofounded by Hunter Biden,” the outlet reported.
A report by Washington Free Beacon detailed that the administration sold over one million barrels to Unipec, the trading arm of Sinopec which is owned by the Chinese Communist Party. Hunter Biden’ private equity firm, BHR, reportedly bought a $1.7 billion stake in Sinopec Marketing in 2015.
Rep. Comer has also reached out to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, according to Fox News. He sent letters to U.S. banks and foreign banks on behalf of the Oversight Committee to gain information that might prove or disprove whether or not the Biden’s “sold access into the top tier of the government to enemies of the United States.
The Treasury Department has not answered his letters. U.S. banks have also failed to respond, as they are not required to do so without a subpoena.
Jacob Yusufov contributed to this report.
