In a hail Mary attempt to somehow slow down the skyrocketing increase in oil prices, the Biden administration decided to throw out any and all notions about environmental consciousness, and call on US oil producers to ramp up production— but only if they want to.
On Tuesday, White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti admitted oil prices are just too damn high, and that someone finally needs to do something about it. “Prices are quite high, the price signal is strong. If folks want to produce more, they can and they should,” he said, signalling American oil producers should lace up their boot strings, forget all about combatting climate change, and get to work!
According to Ramamurti, there are currently about 9,000 empty leases that are available for oil and gas production, and companies are welcomed to use them if they so wish. “The idea that there’s some kind of severe restriction on that production is simply untrue,” he said. The Biden administration faces mounting pressure to address ballooning oil prices, which have pushed inflation levels to the highest in almost 40 years.
The energy inflation problem was further aggravated with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, sending the price of crude north of $110 per barrel this week. Ramamurti assured that the White House is doing everything it can to tackle rising oil prices, including releasing additional stockpiles from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, as well as urging OPEC and its allies to boost output.
President Joe Biden’s latest scramble to alleviate surging oil prices comes as a stark contrast to the administration’s previous campaign promises to battle climate change by halting new oil and gas permits on public lands and water, expedite renewable fuels technology, and of course rescind the Keystone XL pipeline— a move that now in retrospect could have shielded Americans from burgeoning global crude prices.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
