Biden taps oil reserve, GOP wants probe.

Republican Lawmakers Call for Audit of Biden Administration’s Management of Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Concerns Over Energy Security and Structural Damage

Two Republican lawmakers, Senator John Barrasso and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, have requested an audit of the Biden administration’s management of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The lawmakers are concerned that the administration’s oversaw sales of about 250 million barrels from the facility last year have undermined U.S. energy security. The sales have pushed levels of the reserve to the lowest since 1983.

“DOE’s mismanagement of the SPR has undermined America’s energy security, leaving the nation more vulnerable to energy supply disruptions, and increasing the ability for OPEC and Russia to use energy as a geopolitical weapon,” the lawmakers wrote to Gene Dodaro, the head of the GAO.

The Republican lawmakers are also concerned that the SPR sales may have caused structural damage to its pipelines and caverns, compromising its ability to meet its energy security mission in the event of a supply disruption. The Biden administration said last month the sales did not damage the SPR, and the lab that monitors the sites even said the record drawdown may extend the longevity of the underground storage caverns.

SPR Modernization Program

The lawmakers also expressed concerns about delays and cost overruns in the SPR modernization program authorized by Congress in 2015. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has said purchases to replenish the SPR could begin late this year after life extension work is complete at two of the reserves’ four sites on the coasts of Louisiana and Texas and after a congressionally mandated sale.

• Senator John Barrasso, ranking member of the Senate energy committee, and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, head of the House energy committee, have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate the Department of Energy’s (DOE) management of the reserve.
• The lawmakers are concerned that the administration’s oversaw sales of about 250 million barrels from the facility last year have undermined U.S. energy security.
• The Republican lawmakers are also concerned that the SPR sales may have caused structural damage to its pipelines and caverns, compromising its ability to meet its energy security mission in the event of a supply disruption.
• The lawmakers also expressed concerns about delays and cost overruns in the SPR modernization program authorized by Congress in 2015.

Published under: Oil

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