The White House on Thursday said it welcomed a decision by OPEC and its allies to incrementally increase oil output, but added that the United States has no plans to reconsider its decision to release crude reserves.
"We appreciate the close coordination over the recent weeks with our partner Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other OPEC+ producers to help address price pressures," said White House spokesperson Jen Psaki.
Biden administration officials have spent weeks publicly pressuring OPEC+ members to increase oil output to help lower energy prices in the United States, where inflation concerns have become a political problem for the Democratic president.
They also planned to sell 32 million barrels of crude from four Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) sites to be delivered between late-December and April 2022, and pushed other countries to do the same in an effort to lower global prices.
"We welcome the decision today to continue the 400,000 barrels per day increase together with our recent coordinated release from the SPR," Psaki told reporters. "We believe that should help facilitate the global economic recovery."
Asked if Washington would take another look at its decision to release reserves, Psaki was unequivocal: "We have no plans to reconsider."
