A Saudi Arabian minister has criticized the US government’s decision to release millions of barrels from the US’s national strategic oil reserves. Without naming President Joe Biden, Energy Secretary Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said some individuals were using emergency supplies to manipulate market mechanisms.

Speaking at the Future Initiative Investment (FII) conference, the minister said, “It is my duty to make it clear that the loss of emergency supplies may be affected in the coming months. He announced that countries should use their strategic reserves only to fill the shortfall.”

Biden announced last week that 15 million barrels of oil from the US Strategic Reserves are entering the market. In this way, he is trying to reduce prices at the gas pump ahead of the November 8 midterm elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The United States built up its national strategic reserves in the wake of the oil crisis of the 1970s, which arose after the Arab oil boycott. It’s about the world’s largest emergency oil reserves held in underground tanks in Texas and Louisiana.

Saudi Arabia is the unofficial leader of the OPEC oil cartel. The alliance recently joined several major oil nations, including Russia, in deciding to significantly cut oil production to boost prices.