President Joe Biden of the United States urged on Wednesday that oil firms explain why they aren’t putting more gasoline on the market, intensifying his rhetoric against the industry as he confronts mounting criticism over rising prices.
According to a copy of the letter seen by reporters, Biden wrote to executives from Marathon Petroleum Corp, Valero Energy Corp, and Exxon Mobil Corp, complaining that they had cut back on oil refining to inflate their profits.
“Refinery profit margins considerably above average being passed directly on American households are not acceptable during a time of war,” Biden wrote, adding that the absence of refining was driving petrol prices up faster than oil prices.
“A shortage of refining capacity – and the resultant extraordinary refinery profit margins – is dampening the impact of my Administration’s historic efforts in response to Vladimir Putin’s Price Hike and driving up consumer expenses.”
The letter will also be issued to Phillips 66, Chevron Corp, BP, and Shell, according to a White House official who did not want to be identified.
As U.S. gas prices rocketed to record highs above $5 per gallon this past weekend and ahead of the summer driving season, Biden has stepped up his attacks on oil firms.
Rising gas prices have contributed to unexpectedly sustained consumer price inflation and voter rage in the run-up to the Nov. 8 midterm elections, in which Biden’s Democratic Party is defending its congressional majority.
Consumer inflation in the United States unexpectedly increased in May, resulting in the highest annual gain in four decades. Officials in the White House have been debating how to deal with a situation they once hoped would go away but now regard as essentially out of their control.
Rising oil prices, according to Biden, are mostly due to US-led sanctions that removed Russian energy supplies off the global market following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
However, in recent days, Biden has turned his attention to major oil companies, who are benefiting from increased energy prices by posting record profits.
The president, who campaigned on reducing America’s reliance on fossil fuels, now wants to boost oil output, which is anticipated to reach new highs in the coming year.
Last Thursday, Biden stated, “Exxon made more money than God.” Exxon made $5.48 billion in the quarter ending March 31, more than doubling its profits from the previous year, and promised investors that robust profitability will continue into next year. …
Biden stated that US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm planned to convene an emergency meeting on how refiners may respond to higher pricing, but that he would like to hear from the oil corporations first.
He suggested they submit “specific proposals” for increasing oil refining capacity, as well as an explanation for why they may have reduced capacity in the previous two years.
