Gasoline prices have climbed steadily for the better part of a year, reaching an average of $4.25 a gallon on Wednesday. Oil traders wary of internat
Gasoline prices have climbed steadily for the better part of a year, reaching an average of $4.25 a gallon on Wednesday. Oil traders wary of international financial sanctions against Moscow are avoiding Russian crude, taking millions of barrels of oil off the market and threatening to send prices for American drivers even higher.
Granholm also shot back at industry complaints that President Joe Biden’s energy policy was hampering production and causing oil prices to spike, calling that criticism “the same old D.C. b.s..” She repeated forecasts showing an expected 900,000 barrels of oil production this year, while the United States is also poised to become the largest LNG exporter in the world.
“We need to stop fighting this same internal battle,” Granholm said. “We will be at record levels of LNG and oil production.”
Granholm said the administration would try to shorten the permitting process for projects, a major complaint from some in the oil and gas industry.
“Permitting is definitely on the agenda,” Granholm said, a line that garnered a round of applause in the room.
Granholm said the administration would continue to focus on clean energy technology “as fast as possible.“
“But we are under no illusion that every American is going to get an EV or heat pump tomorrow or next month or next year,” she told the audience. “This is a transition. We are pragmatic [about] what that means. It doesn’t happen overnight … Right now we need oil and gas production to rise to meet current demand.”
The Biden administration is available to “work with everyone and anyone who is willing to take a leap into the future by diversifying your energy portfolios to add clean fuels and technologies,” she said.
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