U.S. tapping into oil reserve could drop gas prices, but not immediately in Idaho

BOISE, Idaho — The average gallon of regular gas costs $4.43 in Idaho -- marking the highest recorded average in the Gem State's history, according to AAA.

The national average checks in at a clip of $4.23.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced his solution to draw 1 million barrels of oil out of the federal oil reserve per day. For context, the United States produces 11.5 million barrels of oil per day, according to AAA Idaho Public Affairs Director Matthew Conde.

"This is a step in the right direction to give some relief at the pump," Conde said. "Short all the way around. Putting more back into the system at least signals to the market stability is coming."

However, Idahoans should not expect relief to come in a hurry. All four oil reserves are located along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. None of the reserve oil will make its way to Idaho, Conde said.

"The immediate effect is going to be in the Gulf Coast," Conde said. "It's going to go into refineries down there. It may lower the national average."

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Pumping an extra million barrels into the nationwide supply could ease prices in places like Idaho in the long run -- as supply and demand figures settle, but there is no guarantee the intended outcome will take place and it could take months.

This is partly due to Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The group includes oil leaders such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and United Arab Emirates.

"Everything they do is as a group," Conde said. "Their intent is to keep their product expensive and valuable. By doing that, they sometimes increase supply to crush competition, or they restrict supply to drive prices up."

How OPEC and other national players respond to the United States tapping into oil reserves will dictate how much the public will pay at the pump.

"Just to assume that what we do has a corresponding result is too simple," Conde said. "We have to see what the other corresponding components do."

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