WASHINGTON, D.C. – The oil and gas industry attempted to warn the Biden Administration about the current – and growing – U.S. energy crisis if the President persisted in policies that repeatedly placed roadblocks in their path, according to a former Keystone XL pipeline worker.
Neal Crabtree, who was a worker on the Keystone XL pipeline – which construction was halted by executive order by Biden on his first day in the Oval Office – said that the country’s energy woes are the direct fault of the White House’s decision-making.
“We tried to warn this administration back when they canceled the Keystone Pipeline, they were also canceling national security, foreign policy and energy,” Crabtree said. “They all kinda go hand-in-hand.”
Due to oil prices approaching $130 per barrel this week, gas prices have hit a record point – according to the American Automobile Association, the current average price per gallon is $4.25 and climbing – with no signs of slowing down.
In addition, news on Tuesday that Biden would be banning oil exports from Russia as continued punishment for their invasion of Ukraine will only drive up prices further; Russia is currently the third-largest exporter of oil in the world, and Biden directly blamed the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, for surging gas prices.
“Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump since Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders,” Biden warned. “And with this action, it’s going to go up further. I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home and coordination with our partners.”
During Tuesday’s announcement, Biden cautioned gas companies that this is “no time for profiteering or price gouging,” insinuating that there would be consequences if this were to take place.
However, Crabtree claimed that rising fuel costs are not the blame of Russia alone.
“Even if we can fix the Ukrainian problem, the prices are still going up,” he said. “Biden’s policies have everything to do with the rising fuel prices in this country today. It has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine.”
Crabtree said that the Biden Administration’s apparent aversion to increasing U.S. oil drilling, noting that Biden instead has been requesting that Iran and Venezuela increase oil production to compensate.
“There will be no end to rising gas prices as long as Biden is using this ‘any way but an American way’ when it comes to fossil fuels,” he said. “We’re not saying don’t build windmills or solar farms. Start building them, have fun. But right now, this country runs on oil and gas, and it makes no sense for the Americans to suffer higher prices for it.”
In response to questions about increasing domestic oil production, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that American oil companies currently have thousands of federally-approved drilling permits that they are simply not using.
“Federal policies are not limiting the supplies of oil and gas,” Psaki said. “There are 9,000 approved drilling permits that are not being used. I would suggest you ask the oil companies why they’re not using those if there’s a desire to drill more.”
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