U.S. President Joe Biden announced a plan on Wednesday to sell off the rest of his release from the nation's emergency oil reserve by year's end and begin refilling the stockpile as he tries to dampen high gasoline prices ahead of midterm elections on November 8.

Biden is seeking to add enough supply to prevent near-term oil price spikes that could punish Americans, and assure U.S. drillers that the government will enter the market as a buyer if prices plunge too low.

He said 15 million barrels of oil will be offered from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), part of a record 180 million-barrel release that began in May, and added the United States is ready to tap reserves again early next year to rein in prices.