President Joe Biden will order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve for the next six months, he announced on Thursday, in a bid to control energy prices that have spiked as the U.S. and allies have imposed steep sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Biden called it a "wartime bridge," a temporary fix while the U.S. maintains restrictions on Russian oil and while the Biden administration makes efforts to ramp up domestic oil production in the meantime.

"It is by far the largest release of the national reserve in our history. It will provide a historic amount of supply for an historic amount of time, a six-month bridge to the fall," Biden said. 

President Biden announced the release as part of a two-part plan he unveiled at the White House on Thursday afternoon, which includes efforts to boost oil supply immediately and broader efforts to move the U.S. toward energy independence.

The barrels will be coming to market "soon," senior administration officials said.

Biden warned there may be a delay in when the additional barrels impact prices at the pump, but he said prices were sure to adjust.

"My guess is we'll see it come down and continue to come down. But how far down I don't think anyone can tell," he said.

The move to release up to 180 million barrels of oil was made in coordination with U.S. allies, who have promised to release 30 to 50 million barrels, Biden said.

"The higher the number, the more likely the prices will come down," he added, predicting prices will fall "fairly significantly."

In the meantime, Biden also called on domestic oil producers to ramp up their output, citing the 9,000 unused production permits granted to companies across the United States.

He blamed oil producers' focus on profits and investors for their reluctance to produce more.

"Congress should make companies pay fees on wells on federal leases they haven't used in years and acres of public land they're hoarding without production," he said.

Biden repeatedly blamed Russia's president Vladimir Putin for the jump in energy prices, dubbing it "Putin's price hike."

"We have a crisis: the price at the pump. So let's show some true strength in this nation, show our unity, our resolve, our innovative spirit in America and come out of this long term much better off," he said.

The steady release from the reserves would be a meaningful sum and come near to closing the domestic production gap relative to February 2020, before the coronavirus caused a steep decline in oil output.

The Biden administration in November announced the release of 50 million barrels from the strategic reserve in coordination with other countries. And after the Ukrainian war began, the U.S. and 30 other countries agreed to an additional release of 60 million barrels from reserves, with half of the total coming from the U.S.

High oil prices have not coaxed more production, creating a challenge for Biden. The president has seen his popularity sink as inflation reached a 40-year high in February and the cost of petroleum and gasoline climbed after Russia invaded Ukraine. Crude oil on Wednesday traded at nearly $105 a barrel, up from about $60 a year ago.

Republicans have largely criticized releasing fuel from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with Montana Sen. Steve Daines calling it "a Band-Aid on a bullet wound," saying the U.S. should focus on "investing in American energy production."

The administration says increasing oil output is a gradual process and the release would provide time to ramp up production. It also wants to incentivize greater production by putting fees on unused leases on government lands, something that would require congressional approval.

Oil producers have been more focused on meeting the needs of investors than consumers, according to a survey released last week by the Dallas Federal Reserve. About 59% of the executives surveyed said investor pressure to preserve “capital discipline” amid high prices was the reason they weren’t pumping more, while fewer than 10% blamed government regulation.

"This is not the time to sit on record profits," Biden said of oil producers on Thursday. "It’s time to step up for the good of your country."

According to the Department of Energy, which manages it, more than 568 million barrels of oil were held in the reserve as of Mar. 25.

The second part of Biden's plan is to move the U.S. toward energy independence from other nations, he said.

He called on Congress to pass his climate plan, which has so far stalled among other facets of his domestic agenda but includes a sketchbook to transition to clean energy.

Biden said the transition would be cost-saving as homes and cars become more energy efficient.

"The most important thing my plan will do right away is save your family money," the president said.

Biden said he would also invoke the Defense Production Act to boost U.S. supply of the materials and minerals used to make large capacity batteries, which can be used for things like electric vehicles.