Since July of 2021 the Biden administration has sold nearly 6 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a Chinese state-run energy company, The Daily Caller reports.
The barrels were purchased by the Chinese company through an auction in an effort by the Biden administration to increase the global supply in hopes of driving down prices.
The barrels were sold to Unipec, the trading decision of the Chinese state-owned Sinopec.
However, nearly 4 million barrels were sold before the Russians invaded Ukraine and were sold for $63. That is eight dollars less than what oil was trading at that month.
Ben Lieberman, a senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute told the Daily Caller that “the idea of tapping into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rather than maxing out on American drilling was foolish from the start, it’s like taking out a loan instead of going out and earning more money.”
The report continued,
“It’s helping out a bit, but it’s still a very bad policy,” Lieberman told the DCNF. “The fact that we’re using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rather than drilling offshore or getting more oil to the United States through the Keystone XL pipeline, the fact that we’re not doing these things is really pretty shameful.”
In April, the DOE also sold 950,000 barrels to Unipec, according to a DOE report.
“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve never really was a substitute for that and now to hear that this oil is going to China is problematic because it undercuts their rationale even more,” said Lieberman. “Biden’s policy just shows that he’s not putting American consumers and the American economy first or second or even third.”
The report also indicated that the Chinese company is continuing to buy Russian oil which means Biden is fighting “Putin’s price hike” by helping out an enemy to America.
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