WASHINGTON, June 24 — Biden administration officials and oil industry executives huddled in Washington on Thursday to discuss potential steps to address runaway gasoline prices,...
WASHINGTON, June 24 — Biden administration officials and oil industry executives huddled in Washington on Thursday to discuss potential steps to address runaway gasoline prices, and while both sides called the talks constructive, no concrete plans for relief emerged.
Afterwards, the Energy Department said the talks had had a “productive focus on dissecting the current global problems of supply and refining,” and promised “ongoing dialogue” to “alleviate the current supply and price challenges.” “Clearly we want to come up with solutions,” Jean-Pierre told a press briefing. “There’s going to be other steps to get there.”Biden and the oil industry have an uneasy relationship, in part over the White House’s efforts to restrict drilling in some federal areas due to environmental concerns, and decisions like canceling the Keystone pipeline project on his first day in office.
In a letter earlier this month to oil giants, Biden said high fuel prices were a key factor in the “intense financial pain the American people and their families are bearing.” He urged ExxonMobil, Chevron and other industry players to “provide concrete, near-term solutions that address the crisis.” The rise in prices also reflects the diminished state of refining capacity after the industry mothballed some plants during Covid-19 lockdowns, and did not reopen them amid uncertain long-term growth prospects with the buildup of electric vehicles.
For energy specialist Andrew Lebow of the Commodity Research Group consultancy, “there is very little refiners can do at this point.” “If they could produce more, certainly they would be given that the margins are incredible,” he said.
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