For the GOP dumbasses parked ... long post but a worthwhile bookmark...
Earlier data from Forbes.com
gas prices in the last 6 months – up an average of .75¢ a gallon – why? Several factors not a single political one, and NOT Joe Biden to blame says many fact checkers found out that in light of the many false GOP attacks – their blame game aimed at Biden which is routine for. Now some truth:
Immediately after taking office, Biden announced a 60-day suspension of new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits for U.S. lands and waters (
The AP report). That moratorium did give some senior Department of Interior officials authority to OK new drilling action that otherwise would be suspended.
A federal judge in Louisiana on June 16, 2021
blocked that suspension from Biden nationwide, and ordering the resumption of plans for delayed lease sales for the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.
But even had the moratorium not been struck down, its impact could have been blunted by the number of still-valid permits approved under the Trump administration. The AP also found Interior officials approved almost 1,400 permits on federal lands, primarily in WY and NM over a three-month period that included the election, allowing companies to continue drilling for years.
Biden also revoked approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, which would have delivered crude oil from Canada and North Dakota to the United States. The developer recently pulled the plug on the project following Biden’s move. But the pipeline was not operational, thus it cannot have an impact on current gas prices, though it may have a long-term effect on crude oil supply.
Bloomberg report says: “Other policies that Goldman Sachs analysts suggested could increase crude oil prices include a focus on fiscal spending, a probable lack of urgency in lifting sanctions on Iran (7th largest oil producer), and restrictions on the North American energy industry.”
However, those same analysts and other experts in a
PolitiFact Fact Check on similar claims linking Biden policies to rising gas prices point to the global COVID-19 vaccine rollouts as the key reason oil markets have rallied.
A few more facts on this subject:
Fact #1: Oil companies reduced crude oil production during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand fell with fewer people traveling.
Fact #2: Now, the uptick in travel after more than a year of pandemic-related restrictions — combined with the typically higher level of travel in the summer months — is largely fueling the elevated gas prices.
Fact #3:
USA Today published a fact check June 10 assessing the validity of claims that Biden is to blame for current rising gas prices and found such claims to be false finding that the gas prices increased due to a rising demand with more travel, plus being coupled with lagging supply.
Fact #4: American petroleum refineries make gasoline and other petroleum products from crude oil and other liquids produced in the United States or that which is imported from other countries. Nearly all of the gasoline sold in the United States is produced in the United States.
Fact #5: The U.S. is the top oil-producing country in the world with an average of 19.47 million barrels per day (b/d), which accounts for 19% of the world's production, and it has held the top spot for the past six years (report from 2019).
President Joe Biden and Team Has Sounded the Alarm Bell: Biden and his National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, on Wednesday (August 11) called on OPEC countries
to move faster to restore global supply of petroleum to pre-pandemic levels.
Mr. Biden also asked the FTC to investigate the domestic market for any anti-competitive behavior increasing gas prices. Plus, the administration is pressuring OPEC and gas producers allied with them to quickly undo the production cuts put in place at the start of the pandemic.
Other factors that have an impact on gas prices at the pump:
- Loosening of COVID restrictions in recent months has led to a rapid recovery in global demand for crude oil that has exceeded expectations leading to a tightening crude oil market.
- Strong discipline among the OPEC+ nations related to agreement to limit exports thus tightening supply and demand.
- The U.S. election has played a role since November with the average price per gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. risen by .75 cents per gallon. The markets clearly see Biden as one that will work to inhibit U.S. oil production effecting the global market, so traders have responded by driving up the price of crude oil (to make more money due to shortage and their supplies).
Refinery maintenance and the changeover to summer gasoline blends. This is a factor every year at this time. Gas prices have continued to rise even as crude prices have dropped over the past week.
That happens in March and April when many U.S. refineries are taken offline for
annual maintenance and all refiners switch from manufacturing a winter blends to dozens of summer blends required by the EPA.
That also raises the costs of both refining and transportation of gasoline and gets worked into gas prices during those months and shortly after that we see now.
Top 10 Oil Producers of the 127 Countries Listed
(Yearly production / barrels per day)
| 1 | United States | 14,837,639,510 |
| 2 | Saudi Arabia | 12,402,761,040 |
| 3 | Russia | 11,262,746,200 |
| 4 | China | 4,905,070,874 |
| 5 | Canada | 4,596,724,820 |
| 6 | Iraq | 4,443,457,393 |
| 7 | Iran | 4,376,194,355 |
| 8 | UAE | 3,772,788,273 |
| 9 | Brazil | 3,242,957,836 |
| 10 | Kuwait | 2,990,544,137 |
abcnews.go.com
