FLASHBACK: Biden’s Plan To Outsource The U.S. Oil And Gas Industry.
It is not a revelation to discover that the Biden administration intends to phase out the U.S. oil and gas industry. But it is astonishing to see how quickly it is moving to accomplish this, while sending production abroad to producers in Russia and Middle Eastern nations whose commitment to reduce greenhouse gases is at best questionable.
The most recent action, revealed on August 11, was to implore OPEC and fellow traveler Russia to increase their production as demand in fast recovering economies makes up the shortfalls caused by the pandemic. Polling data in the U.S. about inflation caused in no small part by rising gasoline prices undoubtedly is a prime mover behind the administration request. These are the same producers who just a few short months ago (in early 2020) flooded declining markets in an effort to destroy the economics of U.S. shale oil production. The Biden team also has given a boost to Russian gas production by backing off on attempts to derail the Nord Stream pipeline into Germany, which increases European dependence on the heavily polluting Russian extraction industry. U.S. liquified natural gas producers had hope and reasonable expectations of building capacity to supply European absent the deal with Russia.
The Biden team got off to a fast start in its assault on U.S. and North American oil production by blocking the Keystone XL Pipeline project, which would have contributed to jobs in the construction, refining and transportation sectors in the United States. The administration also has put any new Alaskan production on permanent hold and frozen any new exploration and development auctions in the lower 48 states and offshore.
As part of its most recent initiative, the White House also asked new Federal Trade Commission Chair Lena Khan to spring into action to “monitor industry prices, review merger and acquisitions … and investigate market manipulation and anticompetition practices…” in the U.S. oil industry. The implication of the White House directive is that the industry has nefariously raised gasoline prices above levels commensurate with crude prices.
But Putin!