Gasoline prices are largely determined by the price of crude oil. Crude oil is traded on an international market. It doesn’t matter where the crude goes. As long as it’s introduced to the market, it brings down the price. So it makes sense for the United States to simply sell it to the highest bidder, which is exactly what they did.

Keeping the oil “for ourselves” doesn’t mean anything unless we nationalize the entire American oil industry. I’m actually all for that, but I suspect you are not.