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The
joint letter from the American Petroleum Institute and the
American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufactures to Energy Secretary
Jennifer Granholm represents the latest volley in a clash
between the oil industry and the Biden administration over high
energy prices.
President Joe Biden has made battling an energy-led surge in
consumer prices a top priority and has repeatedly chided oil
companies for earning bumper profits at a time of record
gasoline prices.
Biden has repeated those accusations in recent weeks as gasoline
prices began to tick back up leading into the November midterm
elections, after weeks of declines.
The idea of limiting U.S. fuel exports to keep domestic energy
prices in check was largely dismissed as unlikely by the oil
industry when it first came up months ago, but the letter on
Tuesday shows the industry is becoming increasingly concerned
the administration could move ahead with it.
In August, Granholm sent a letter to U.S. refining companies
urging them to focus more on building domestic inventories of
gasoline and diesel, and less on exports. She warned that if
they did not, the administration would need to consider
"emergency measures," but offered no specifics.
On Friday, Granholm and top White House officials repeated that
warning in a hastily called virtual meeting about energy prices.
White House officials have said restrictions on energy exports
are not being considered "at this time," but that they have not
been ruled out entirely.
The groups said in their letter that recent discussions raised
"significant concerns" that the administration may pursue a ban
or limit on fuel exports.
"Banning or limiting the export of refined products would likely
decrease inventory levels, reduce domestic refining capacity,
put upward pressure on consumer fuel prices, and alienate U.S.
allies during a time of war. For these reasons, we urge the
Biden administration to take this option off the table," the
groups said, referring to Russia's war in Ukraine.
In response to the letter, an Energy Department spokesperson
said that energy companies were raking in record high profits
after Russia's invasion of Ukraine instead of ensuring that U.S.
consumers and allies have a reliable fuel supply at a fair
price. The administration is "going to continue to look at all
tools available to protect Americans and uphold our commitments
to our allies," the spokesperson said.
The United States has approximately 18 million barrels per day
(bpd) of refining capacity and averages about 3.5 million bpd of
fuel exports, with Latin America a major destination.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; additional reporting by Timothy
Gardner in Washington; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise,
Marguerita Choy, Jonathan Oatis and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
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