JUNE 13, 2022
The Biden administration allegedly thought oil and gas producers could drill on demand, but were "shocked to learn" that is not how oil production actually works.
What are the details?
According to the Financial Times, the White House has been pleading with oil producers to boost production as Americans face record-high gas prices.
Their demands — which sharply cut against President Joe Biden's liberal environmental policy goals — simultaneously exposed the Biden administration's ignorance of the complexities associated with oil production. The Financial Times claimed oil companies have not heeded the demands, but Bob McNally, the head of consultancy at Rapidan Energy, said something else is behind lagging production.
McNally, in fact, told the Financial Times the Biden administration was painfully unaware that oil production is not an overnight process.
"When the White House started calling around in a panic, they thought shale oil production could grow sharply in the near term — like in a matter of months or quarters," McNally explained. "They were shocked to learn that that’s like asking for blood from a stone. It’s almost impossible."
While it is not true that oil companies are price gouging (because they do not set gas prices), the Biden administration has not given them incentive to boost production.
After all, why would a company that is subject to the volatile commodities market make significant investments in oil production if the federal government repeatedly enacts policies that are hostile to oil production? These are businesses, the points of which are to make money — not throw it away.
What is Biden doing about gas prices?
The national average gas price hit $5.01 per gallon on Monday, another new record.
But what exactly the Biden administration is doing to help Americans remains unclear. Last week, Biden continued blaming his usual scapegoats — Russian President Vladimir Putin and allegedly greedy oil companies — but has yet to offer a substantive solution to the growing crisis.
The Washington Post reported Monday the Biden administration is trying to sell the American people rose-colored glasses, updating White House messaging to focus on what they claim are positive aspects of an economy that is boiling over with inflation.
"But," the Post reported, "the messaging push has not yielded any new direct measures to lower costs."
Meanwhile, Biden will visit Saudi Arabia next month, the Wall Street Journal reported, and address a host of issues with Crowned Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including oil.
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