Last week, President Joe Biden called on U.S. oil refiners to produce more gasoline and diesel, reports the Associated Press. In the letter, Biden says their profits have tripled during a time of war between Russia and Ukraine as Americans struggle with record-high prices at the pump.
In response to Biden’s letter, the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association issued a statement saying Biden’s rhetoric on solutions for energy prices does not match up with his past policy decisions on oil and natural gas development.
“Gasoline prices are complicated and are influenced by multiple factors,” LMOGA President Tommy Faucheux says in the statement. “We need policies in place that support domestic energy development to alleviate pain at the pump and bolster U.S. energy security.”
LMOGA’s stance echoes that of the American Petroleum Institute, which published a statement today saying that production capacity has been diminished as the Biden administration has sought to move away from fossil fuels as part of its climate change agenda.
Biden’s letter is unlikely to start a chain of events that would boost supplies. Refineries have gone through unprecedented, unplanned maintenance globally in the last three months and there is an extreme shortage being felt across the globe, says Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president at Rystad Energy. Read more from the Associated Press.
