EXPLAINER: What is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?

President Joe Biden plans to release 15 million barrels of oil or more from the U.S. strategic reserves in an effort to stop gasoline prices from rising now that OPEC and its allies plan to cut production.

The administration hopes that tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move that comes just weeks before the midterm elections, will bring relief to voters who have been struggling from high gasoline prices.

Global oil prices were rising even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February. When Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports in early March, he acknowledged it would come at a cost to American consumers.

The drawdown being announced Wednesday would complete the release of 180 million barrels authorized by Biden in March that was initially supposed to occur over six months. That has sent the strategic reserve to its lowest level since 1984 in what the administration called a “bridge” until domestic production could be increased. The reserve now contains roughly 400 million barrels of oil.