75°
73º | 84°
72° | 82°
A University of Houston (UH) professor said President Joe Biden’s release of 15 million barrels of oil from the country’s reserves won’t make a dent in gas prices, Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported.
Dr. Praveen Kumar, a professor in UH's C. T. Bauer College of Business, explained that the release isn’t anything new to the energy industry as it was already aware of the additional releases, KTRK reported.
“Oil traders definitely pay attention to these things, and they factor this in,” Kumar told the station. “This is why I don't think it's going to have any downward effects on gas prices."
KTRK reported that Biden had announced that up to 180 million barrels would be released throughout the year.
As of Thursday, the station reported, according to AAA’s webpage that tracks gas prices, Texas presently averages $3.26 a gallon while pumps in the Houston area show an average of $3.20 per gallon.
Per KTRK, AAA reported that prices nationwide averaged $3.84, with all figures higher than those posted last month.
Kumar attributed the current averages to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) reduction of production in response to less demand, the station reported.
"That's why the gas prices started going up,” the professor told the station.
Reuters reported that U.S. Senate panel moved a measure forward on Wednesday to keep OPEC’s actions in check called the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels (NOPEC) Act.
According to Reuters, lawmakers could debate the bill after Election Day.
A report from Amarillo NBC affiliate KAMR that was ran by Houston CW affiliate KIAH said that Americans are anticipating the seasonal drop in prices that occurs when temperatures cool.
The report said that “winter gas,” which is the name for the formula used and produced outside the months between May and October, requires less energy to work, less effort to produce and generates less customer demand, essentially contributing to cheaper prices at the pump.