US President Joe Biden called on the country’s largest oil companies to increase capacity and production, as well as provide solutions to contain fuel prices.
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Biden announced his readiness to “use all reasonable and appropriate means of the federal government to increase the capacity and production of oil refineries in the near term.” According to the President of the United States, the current “oil companies’ profits, which are significantly higher than the norm, are unacceptable.”
Biden’s letter, calling for “concrete, short-term workable solutions” to lower fuel prices, is addressed to the CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP America, Shell USA, Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum and Valero.
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Biden announced on March 31 that the United States would release 1 million barrels of oil per day from its strategic national reserve for six months in order to reduce gasoline prices in the country. At the same time, the US Department of Energy will use the proceeds from the sale of oil from its reserve to purchase energy and replenish it in subsequent years. As the agency later explained, the first 90 million barrels of oil would be released between May and July. The remaining 90 million barrels will be released between August and October.
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A strong rise in retail gasoline prices in the United States began at the end of winter, the highs are updated for the fourth week in a row.
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This is happening against the backdrop of rising global oil prices, despite attempts by the White House to counter the trend. During a speech at the White House on Wednesday, Biden said that the US administration is unlikely to be able to reduce the cost of gasoline and food in the country in the short term.
