After OPEC announced drastic production cutbacks, the US fossil fuel sector had harsh words for President Joe Biden, claiming that the government now had no option except to promote increased domestic supply.
The US Oil and Gas Association tweeted on Wednesday, “The White House has one choice remaining, and it is the one option they should have never moved away from in the first place.”
Following OPEC’s statement that it would reduce oil output by around 2 million barrels per day, limiting supplies at a time when gas prices are already excruciatingly high, the trade organization added in a condescending remark, “Life comes at you fairly quickly.”
US oil companies replied to the OPEC action by claiming that America must significantly increase its own output. They claim the Biden administration is stifling domestic production with onerous restrictions.
Due to his pledge to “stop fossil fuel” during the 2020 presidential campaign and the tighter rules that his government has proposed and implemented, new drilling and refining investments have been discouraged.
With gas prices already nationally average a painful $3.83 and expected to climb further due to supply worries, the energy crisis may now work against Democrats in the next midterm elections.
Dan Kish, senior vice president of the Institute for Energy Research, which supports fossil fuels, saw irony in the circumstance.
According to Forbes, Kish said, “President Biden and his administration have done everything within their power to unilaterally disarm American energy production from day one and he now wants to blame everyone else for his disastrous policies.”
He said, “His routine is well beyond being stale, and Americans will pay the price for his continuous attack on American energy.”
The American Exploration and Production Council’s CEO, Anne Bradbury, said that the administration’s energy policies are absurd and are increasing our reliance on foreign energy sources.
Instead, she said, “the Biden Administration should be focused on expanding production here in the US via a deliberate and all-encompassing energy strategy that helps drive down prices and lessen our dependence on foreign sources.”
The American Petroleum Institute’s president and chief executive officer, Mike Sommers, said that “the key to satisfying demand for inexpensive, dependable energy is right here in the United States.”
Geopolitical instability is causing a rising energy crisis, and U.S. officials should be doing all in their power to increase domestic energy production rather than pressuring foreign regimes to increase their oil production, he said.
In the meanwhile, the White House refuted rumors that it intended to relax sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to increase the socialist dictatorship’s oil exports.
Our approach to Venezuelan sanctions has not altered. Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, told Reuters on Wednesday that “we will continue to execute and enforce our sanctions on Venezuela.”
Watson said that Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela, must take “constructive efforts” to restore democracy before the United States would remove its sanctions against that country.
It came as the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington was getting ready to loosen certain sanctions on Venezuela to enable Chevron Corp. to restart oil production there.
According to the publication, Maduro’s administration will start discussions with the nation’s opposition to discuss the requirements for holding free and fair presidential elections in 2024 in return for the lifting of the sanctions.
The OPEC+ oil coalition on Wednesday announced a significant production reduction of two million barrels, prompting the White House to declare that “it is evident” that the group “is aligning with Russia.”
Despite the West’s attempts to stifle oil and gas profits as a source of funding for Russia’s illegitimate invasion of Ukraine, it is expected to be a significant boost for Moscow.
The Biden administration might suffer a severe blow as a result of another another spike in petrol costs for American cars.
For the first time since early 2020, energy ministers from the OPEC cartel, whose major member is Saudi Arabia, and affiliated non-members like as Russia convened in person at the organization’s Vienna headquarters.
The output reduction they revealed on Tuesday is the biggest one that have occurred since the COVID-19 outbreak began. It comes after oil barrel prices, which are now under $90 due to concerns about an impending global recession, fell by around a quarter in only three months.
The Washington Post reports that prices have increased by as much as 60 cents a gallon in some US regions, highlighting the perilous situation.
As he boarded Marine One for a trip to hurricane-ravaged Florida, President Joe Biden was questioned about OPEC+’s decision, but he told reporters he “needed to examine the specifics.”
According to reports, he said that he was “concerned” and that it was a “unnecessary” measure.
Biden was “disappointed by the shortsighted choice,” according to a joint statement from National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The decision, it said, “would have the greatest adverse effect on lower- and middle-income nations that are already grappling with higher energy costs at a time when ensuring a global supply of energy is of crucial significance.”