“No more drilling…there is no more drilling,” said U.S. President Joe Biden at a campaign rally in New York state on Sunday when asked by a person in the crowd about drilling on federal land and in federal waters.
The President and the U.S. Administration had promised to halt oil and gas drilling on federal land and in federal waters during the campaign ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Just last week, President Biden said as the biggest oil companies were reporting record or near-record profits for Q3, “I think they have a responsibility to act in the interest of their consumers, their community, and their country; to invest in America by increasing production and refining capacity.”
“They have the opportunity to do that — lowering prices for consumers at the pump. You know, if they don’t, they’re going to pay a higher tax on their excess profits and face other restrictions. My team will work with Congress to look at these options that are available to us and others,” President Biden said on October 31.
The U.S. oil and gas industry continues to be frustrated with the mixed messages from the Biden Administration, which continues to blame oil companies for high gasoline prices and demands that oil firms “lower the prices for consumers at the pump.”
Commenting on President Biden’s remarks on gasoline prices and the threat that oil firms are “going to pay a higher tax on their excess profits and face other restrictions” if they don’t increase output, American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers said last week, “Rather than taking credit for price declines and shifting blame for price increases, the Biden administration should get serious about addressing the supply and demand imbalance that has caused higher gas prices and created long-term energy challenges.”
“Oil companies do not set prices—global commodities markets do,” API’s Sommers said.
