Saudi Arabia lent their pals in Russia a helping hand in the country’s push for higher global oil prices on Wednesday, along with other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Anyone else sick of the fact that we are still so dependent on foreign oil when we have plenty of it right here in our own backyard? Drill, baby, drill.
OPEC announced that member states would be reducing their oil output by 2 million barrels a day starting in November, which is roughly two percent of the global oil demand. Fuel from Russia is, at the moment, trading worldwide at a discount as consumers in Europe have refrained from buying the country’s fuel.
“Brent crude prices surged to $139 per barrel earlier this year after Russia invaded Ukraine, although prices had since declined to roughly $84 per barrel before spiking this week to roughly $93 per barrel. New output restrictions could provoke the United States to release more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which are presently at their lowest levels in four decades,” the Daily Wire reported.
The Daily Wire then stated, “With member states such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, and Iraq, OPEC sets petroleum output targets in a bid to control worldwide energy prices. The bloc accounts for more than 80% of the world’s proven oil reserves, with 67% coming from Middle Eastern members. Russia has coordinated oil output with OPEC since 2016.”
The news concerning this reduction in oil production comes about as relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia continued to be strained, despite the fact the Middle Eastern nation has long been considered one of our most important economic allies in the area. Why are things so tense between the two countries.
I’ll give you three guesses, but you’ll only need one. President Joe Biden. The president has called Saudi Arabia a “paraia” during the 2020 election cycle, which is an accusation that stems from the murder of a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi back in 2018. It’s important to note that Khashoggi was openly critical of Saudi rulers.
“During a visit to the Islamic kingdom three months ago, Biden touted the need to ‘ensure adequate supplies’ of energy ‘to meet global needs.’ Though he did not specifically mention oil, many have speculated that encouraging higher output in response to elevated gas prices in the United States was a primary factor behind Biden’s visit,” the Daily Wire said.
Democratic Party Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut stated Wednesday that the plan put out by OPEC to cut down on the output of petroleum is proof that the U.S. needs to consider a “wholesale reevaluation” of its alliance with Saudi Arabia.
“I just don’t know what the point of the current alliance is, if we have to work so hard to get the Saudis to do the right thing,” he went on to say during an interview with CNBC.
“The national average price of gasoline in the United States was $2.38 per gallon when Biden assumed office and increased to $3.53 per gallon by the start of the invasion of Ukraine. After surpassing $5.00 per gallon in early June, prices have somewhat subsided to $3.83 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to data from AAA. However, gas prices in Los Angeles County, California, reached an all-time high on Monday as the cost for a gallon of regular fuel hit $6.47,” the report continued.
What’s really frustrating about the current fuel situation is that the Biden administration is refusing to take any real action to solve the problem. All we need to do is focus on becoming energy independent. Focus on producing our own petroleum. That would provide a massive number of jobs for folks looking for work, and lower the price of gas. Isn’t that a good thing?
Of course it is.
However, if that course of action is taken then there’s no push toward “renewable energy.” Well guess what? We don’t have the technology to truly head in that direction anyway. So why not do what is best for folks in the meantime?
Because that means a lack of control over the means of production. Duh.
