WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will be looking at an updated U.S. energy outlook due this week as it weighs options for lowering oil prices, including tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.
Granholm’s comments on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday suggest that the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s report will influence any administration decisions on measures to bring down gasoline prices, which hit the highest level since 2014 last week.
“The president is all over this,” Granholm said. “I think we’ll be looking at that forecast that’s coming out on Tuesday.”
She reiterated previous comments that the petroleum reserve is one of the tools at Biden’s disposal “and he is certainly looking at that.”
OPEC and its allies last week rejected Biden’s request for a large production increase and stuck to a plan for gradual monthly output increases of 400,000 barrels a day.
“OPEC is unfortunately controlling the agenda with respect to oil prices,” Granholm told CNN.
