Democrats are pressuring Biden to deal with high oil prices and not rule out the implementation of an oil export ban

U.
S.
President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure from Democrats to take measures, including a possible ban on oil exports and the release of crude oil from the nation's strategic reserves, to address rising gasoline prices
.
Only last Saturday, Biden said with "confidence" that the US government had a way to deal with high oil prices, in response to the previous refusal of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to increase US requests
for oil producers to increase production.

Eleven Democratic senators, including several known for their focus on climate change, urged Biden in a letter this week to act quickly to address the issue of the nation's average price per gallon of
gasoline hitting its highest level since 2014.
They argue that households and small businesses are currently bearing an "undue burden" and have urged the release of oil from the National Strategic Reserve and even a more aggressive ban on U.
S.
crude exports
.

"As the United States is committed to promoting clean and renewable energy in the long term, we must ensure that Americans can still afford to spend
on cars while refueling," the letter reads.
The letter was signed by climate hawks such as Senator Warren of Massachusetts
and Ed Markey, author of the Green New Deal.

The letter could provide Biden with political cover for the U.
S.
government to release millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at the end of international climate talks in Scotland
.

Bob McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official, said the most likely approach would be to requisition some of the oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for use
.

McNally: "By all accounts, the government is desperately looking forward to the opening up of the strategic petroleum reserves, and that's exactly what the
market is looking for.
" I still believe that the market expects to open the Strategic Petroleum Reserve later this week, which I think is the most likely option
.
”

Imposing a ban on oil exports is considered unlikely because it would disrupt oil flows around the
world.
Just six years ago, the U.
S.
Congress lifted a 40-year-long ban on U.
S.
oil exports, reshaping the global crude oil market, changing geopolitical forces and upending entire economies
.
The United States has become the world's largest oil producer, with its oil sold to more than 50 countries, and its shipments tend to exceed any OPEC country
except Saudi Arabia.

According to the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration, the U.
S.
exported nearly 3 million barrels of crude oil
per day in August alone.
The White House said it was considering "all available tools" because rising oil and gasoline prices threaten economic recovery and pose a political risk
.
But Biden's options for curbing gasoline price increases are limited, with most options either short-term or in conflict
with his agenda to combat climate change.