Another major release of US oil reserves is imminent

President Joe Biden is close to releasing another large batch of oil from emergency stocks in the US in a bid to slash crude prices, which are fueling high inflation across the economy, according to three people familiar with the plan.

The White House move is expected on Thursday and would be the third and possibly biggest oil release it has announced since November.

Oil prices fell on reports of Biden's forthcoming announcement, with US oil brand West Texas Intermediate down 4.7 percent to $102.75 and international benchmark Brent down 3.7 percent to $109.30.

A person familiar with the plan said the final details are still being worked out, but the release from the US strategic oil reserve is expected to take several months and amount to up to 1 million barrels of oil per day will.

The US consumes around 20 million barrels per day, which is about a fifth of global demand.

At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Biden will discuss "his administration's actions to reduce the impact of [Vladimir] Putin's price hike on energy prices and lower gas prices at the pump for American families," according to the White House agenda .

Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Biden has increasingly blamed the Russian president for high inflation, which is hurting his approval ratings and hurting the Democratic Party's chances of maintaining control of Congress in November's midterm elections.

The White House move also comes as Western countries have stepped up their sanctions against Russia, the world's largest oil exporter, including a US ban on oil imports from the country following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The International Energy Agency, which oversees western consumer nations, said this month that sanctions against Russia and shippers' reluctance to ship Russian crude could cut the country's production by as much as 3 million barrels a day, or about 3 percent, through April of the world total could decrease.

"It wouldn't be surprising if the government extended the [earlier release of stocks] as the huge risk of Russian oil supply disruption isn't going away," said Bob McNally, an adviser to former US President George W. Bush, who is now heads the consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group.

Oil prices have soared since the invasion, with international benchmark Brent hitting a 14-year high this month. Prices have nearly doubled over the past year, while average gasoline prices have risen nearly 50 percent, hitting record highs in recent weeks.

The US has also urged Saudi Arabia and other major Opec oil producers to increase the pace of supply increases, but the cartel has resisted pressure. The producer group will meet on Thursday to decide on its support policy.

The SPR is a government-managed emergency storage complex consisting of four underground locations in salt domes along the US Gulf Coast. According to the Federal Energy Information Administration, 568 million barrels of crude oil are currently stored there.

Biden announced a delisting from the SPR in November, and last month the US joined other members of the IEA in a coordinated global delisting.

Previous major stockpiling releases have come after supply disruptions such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Libyan civil war in 2011.

The Department of Energy declined to comment.