Despite the best efforts of the Biden administration to move toward green alternatives, oil remains a vital commodity to not only the American economy but also global civilization in general. Easy access to the substance can be the deciding factor between a country&#8217;s prosperity and its descent into chaos and poverty.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-nixes-plan-to-help-refill-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it had canceled plans to help refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, citing a rise in crude oil prices to $85 a barrel. The government had previously announced in March that it would solicit up to 3 million barrels for a facility in Louisiana as part of its efforts to resupply the SPR.
The Energy Department claimed to be “keeping the taxpayer’s interest at the forefront.” The agency said, “We will not award the current solicitations for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site and will solicit available capacity as market conditions allow,” adding, “We will continue to monitor market dynamics.”
In an attempt to stimulate skyrocketing gas prices in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/10/19/biden-to-announce-more-oil-reserve-sales-to-reduce-gas-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">initiated</a> a 180-million-barrel <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/18/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-announce-new-actions-to-strengthen-u-s-energy-security-encourage-production-and-bring-down-costs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drawdown</a> of the SPR in 2022, decreasing the reserve to its <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/02/biden-strategic-petroleum-reserve-oil-levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lowest level in decades</a>. Since that drawdown, Biden has slowly purchased more oil, around 32 million barrels, but the reserve is still well below where it was before Biden took office.
<div id="attachment_719633" style="width: 779px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-719633" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-719633" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-769x576.jpg" alt="FREEPORT, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: In an aerial view, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage at the Bryan Mound site is seen on October 19, 2022 in Freeport, Texas. US President Joe Biden is planning to release fifteen million barrels of oil from the nation's emergency reserves in an effort to continue curving gas prices around the country. The deal completes Biden's March initiative to release 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="769" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-769x576.jpg 769w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700-768x575.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-1434804700.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
The SPR currently stands at <a href="https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/weekly/pdf/table1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">363.6 million barrels</a> according to recent data, down from around <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-business-opec-climate-and-environment-cd15107ef2e0bb49db9165eb190b450c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">600 million</a> barrels in late 2021 and nearly half the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/spr-quick-facts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authorized storage capacity</a> of 714 million barrels.
Though the administration&#8217;s decision on the SPR was received passively by the mainstream media, it&#8217;s actually a pretty massive deal for those who remember why it was created in the first place.
The SPR, “the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil,&#8221; was established in 1975 specifically to &#8220;reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products&#8221; in the wake of the oil crisis of the mid-1970s, the Energy Department <a href="https://www.energy.gov/ceser/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a>.
In retaliation for supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, the Arab-dominated OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-oil-embargo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed</a> an embargo on oil exports to the United States. Within a year, the price for a barrel of oil in the U.S. quadrupled, and the nation suffered its first oil shortage since World War II.
In response, the federal government lowered the national speed limit to 55 mph in order to reduce oil consumption, several states <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2021/05/13/gas-shortages-1970s/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed</a> rationing schemes, and gas lines <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2012/11/10/164792293/gas-lines-evoke-memories-oil-crises-in-the-1970s#:~:text=During%20two%20separate%20oil%20crises,they%20tried%20to%20fill%20up." target="_blank" rel="noopener">became</a> common. One common scheme to control gas consumption was to only allow cars with license plates that ended in an odd number to refuel on an odd day of the month, and vice versa for cars with license plates ending in an even number.
<div id="attachment_719631" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-719631" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-719631" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-866x576.jpg" alt="Drivers queue for fuel at a petrol station near Trenton, New Jersey, USA, circa 1974. The country has been hit by worldwide fuel shortages caused by the oil embargo imposed by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC). (Photo by Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images)" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-155367107.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images</div>
The U.S. economy <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/arab-oil-embargo-40-years-later" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shrank</a> by an estimated 2.5% because of the crisis. Though the embargo was ended after negotiations between the U.S. and OPEC in March 1974, the surge in prices and unemployment contributed to the stagflation the plagued the U.S. economy for the rest of the decade.
After it was established in 1975, the SPR was quickly stocked throughout the 1980s, remaining relatively stable during the next three decades and even reaching a high of over 715 million barrels around 2010.
The oil crisis also motivated the government to encourage more domestic oil production, <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/1973-energy-crisis-definition-5222090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reducing</a> the nation&#8217;s reliance on OPEC oil from around 70% of total oil imports in the early &#8217;70s to around 16% <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=727&amp;t=6#:~:text=Crude%20oil%20imports%20of%20about,%2C%20and%20U.S.%20Virgin%20Islands)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">today</a>. The U.S. also sources a majority of its oil imports from Canada. Still, the U.S. imports over 8 million barrels of oil per day from around the world, <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=727&amp;t=6#:~:text=Crude%20oil%20imports%20of%20about,%2C%20and%20U.S.%20Virgin%20Islands)." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Energy Information Administration, and as shown by the global supply chain disruptions seen during the pandemic, global events can still wreak havoc on domestic prices.
The SPR was not intended to be used as the president&#8217;s oil piggy bank — broken open to drive down gas prices and shore up his party&#8217;s chances in the upcoming midterms. It&#8217;s there to stave off the gas lines that marked the 1973 oil crisis and keep the military machine going in the event the nation is cut off from overseas oil.
A full-scale conflict in the Middle East — home to major oil exporters like Iraq and Saudi Arabia — or a war between the U.S. and China in the Pacific would certainly sow discord in global trade. If global tensions continue to escalate and the SPR remains understocked, the president threatens to leave the nation disastrously short of a critical product for a significant length of time.

Remember The ’70s Oil Crisis: Biden’s Reluctance To Restock America’s Oil Reserves Should Be A Massive Red Flag

Remember The '70s Oil Crisis: Biden's Reluctance To Restock America's Oil Reserves Should Be A Massive Red Flag

Biden Administration

Energy

Middle East

OPEC

Readers Pass

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

U.S.

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russian</a> oil exports have rebounded to rates previously seen before the nation’s invasion of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> despite sanctions imposed by Western countries.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/g7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">G7</a> nations, the European Union, and Australia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-balks-as-g7-european-union-implement-oil-price-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">implemented</a> a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil so that their maritime services industries, such as insurance and trade finance, can only offer their services for Russian oil sold below the benchmark. Russian oil exports in March nevertheless soared to the highest levels since April 2020 due to “surging product flows that returned to levels last seen before Russia invaded Ukraine,” according to a monthly oil market <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-market-report-april-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the International Energy Agency.
Revenues from Russian oil exports meanwhile increased $1 billion last month to reach $12.7 billion, a metric which is still 43% lower than one year ago. The Russian government depends upon revenues from the energy sector to fill its coffers.
To avoid the price cap, Russia must depend upon maritime service industries outside of the G7, which are generally more expensive and less reliable.
The effort from Western nations to limit the Russian oil market has been resisted by countries that prioritize cheaper and more reliable sources of energy. China witnessed a 43% year-over-year increase in Russian oil imports as of two months ago, according to an <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/032023-chinas-crude-imports-from-russia-hits-record-as-xi-putin-eye-stronger-energy-ties#:~:text=China's%20crude%20oil%20imports%20from,when%20Chinese%20President%20Xi%20Jinping" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from S&amp;P Global, which noted that China is willing to “snap up attractively priced crudes” shunned by Western nations. Russian economic actors now <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/world-turns-to-china-in-moves-to-escape-dollar-dominance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">use</a> the Chinese yuan more than the dollar as the two nations increase their trade cooperation.
Japan, a member of the G7, will likewise <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/japan-buys-oil-from-russia-in-break-with-western-allies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">continue</a> to purchase crude oil from a project in the far eastern portion of Russia such that the energy-poor island nation will continue to have access to the natural gas present at the site. “We have done this with an eye toward having a stable supply of energy for Japan,” an official from the Japanese economy ministry said earlier this month in a statement.
Japan has been more hesitant than other G7 nations to express wholehearted support for Ukraine given their dependence on Russian energy. The nation provides roughly one-tenth of Japanese natural gas imports; Germany, which depended on Russia for more than half of natural gas imports before the invasion began early last year, rushed to secure other power sources as the cost of electricity <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/back-to-the-dark-ages-tucker-carlson-details-europes-self-induced-energy-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">soared</a> more than tenfold last fall.
The International Energy Agency noted that a surprise oil production <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decrease</a> from OPEC, an economic bloc constituting Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other countries with a large share of global oil production, will risk “aggravating an expected oil supply deficit” in the second half of 2023 and “boosting oil prices at a time of heightened economic uncertainty, even as industrial activity slows in the world’s largest economies.”
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President Joe Biden has meanwhile earned <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-release-more-oil-from-strategic-reserve-ahead-of-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticism</a> for approving the release of 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil created to manage supply disruptions in energy markets, depleting the reservoir even as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-missed-golden-window-to-restock-strategic-petroleum-reserves-he-depleted-oil-ceo-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">costs</a> to refill the stores are now elevated. He also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-wall-street-ceo-slams-biden-for-going-hat-in-hand-to-saudi-arabia-for-oil-admits-investors-dont-give-a-s-about-wokeness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> last year to enable American oil production in Venezuela and reportedly asked Saudi Arabia to delay oil production cuts until after the midterm elections.

Oil Field.

Russian Oil Exports Rebound To Pre-War Levels Despite Western Sanctions

Russian Oil Exports Return To Pre-War Levels

Economy

Oil and Gas

Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

World

Canary CEO Dan Eberhart remarked that President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> missed a “golden window” to replenish the depleted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Strategic Petroleum Reserve</a> when oil prices were reasonably low.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OPEC</a>, an economic bloc constituted by Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other countries with a large share of worldwide oil production, recently issued an unexpected <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduction</a> in output, causing oil prices across the planet to soar. Brent crude, the benchmark for fuel drilled in the Atlantic Ocean, increased from $79 per barrel on March 31 to $85 per barrel on April 11.
Eberhart commented in an <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/oil-ceo-calls-biden-out-missed-golden-window-replenish-petroleum-reserve-really-bad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Fox Business that “the train has left the station” with respect to Biden replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil intended to minimize the impact of fuel supply disruptions, since the price of oil is unlikely to fall below $80 per barrel for the foreseeable future.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t stress enough how missing the window to replace the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is just really bad for our national security and really bad for consumers. The administration has left us completely unprepared,&#8221; the oilfield services executive commented. &#8220;They had an excellent opportunity when the price was somewhat low and they did nothing. It seems to me we definitely have a Goldilocks scenario for oil exiting 2023 at $100 per barrel or higher. I think that&#8217;s inevitable at this point.&#8221;
Democratic lawmakers previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> former President Donald Trump for attempting to purchase oil at $24 per barrel in order to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Congress blocked the measure amid broader stimulus package negotiations; Senate Majority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) boasted that his colleagues had nixed a “bailout for big oil.”
Reporters <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-president-has-done-has-worked-jean-pierre-claims-biden-gas-price-policies-will-lessen-impact-of-latest-opec-move" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre last week about the administration’s response to the move from OPEC, which comes ahead of the busy summer travel months. Jean-Pierre contended that the administration would do “everything that we can to make sure that we lower costs and meet the American people where they are,” asserting that policies enacted by Biden have previously mitigated increases in fuel prices.
Biden has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/keystone-pipeline-dead-killed-by-biden-thousands-of-jobs-lost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nixed</a> expansions to the Keystone XL pipeline and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-severely-cuts-back-on-oil-and-gas-leases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slowed</a> federal oil lease approvals in the two years since he entered the White House. He meanwhile <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">returned</a> the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty that calls for slashing worldwide emissions in half by 2030, as he encourages a broader transition toward renewable energy.
Eberhart also criticized the administration’s policies for decreasing productivity in his industry. &#8220;We&#8217;ve got a good economy, we&#8217;ve got a high oil price, and yet we&#8217;re seeing production lower than it was during the Trump administration” he continued. &#8220;Biden has slowed down pipelines, has canceled the Keystone pipeline and others, has canceled the offshore lease program for four new drilling sites. And it&#8217;s just made it very, very difficult to drill, and just continues to throw wrenches and sand in the gears of the oil industry. Our production, our drilling is not what it once was. The rig count is also lower. And this is all just constraining supply, and it&#8217;s silently sowing the seeds for the next oil price spike which ultimately will be bad for consumers.”

President Biden Returns To The White House From Pennsylvania

Biden Missed ‘Golden Window’ To Restock Strategic Petroleum Reserves He Depleted, Oil CEO Says

Biden Missed 'Golden Window' To Restock Strategic Petroleum Reserves He Depleted

White House Press Secretary <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a> claimed that President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> will successfully lessen the impact of surprise oil production cuts from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OPEC</a> on <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gas prices</a>.
OPEC, an economic bloc constituted by Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and other countries with a large share of global oil production, unexpectedly announced that they would reduce output by 1.15 million barrels per day from May through the end of 2023. Brent crude, the benchmark for fuel drilled in the Atlantic, soared from $79 per barrel on Friday to $85 per barrel on Wednesday.
Analysts predict that the move could <a href="https://twitter.com/Varneyco/status/1643610691306401793" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raise</a> gas prices in the United States by another $0.30 per gallon. The current national average gas price is $3.53 per gallon, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from AAA.
Reporters <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2023/04/04/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-23/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> Jean-Pierre during a Tuesday press briefing about the White House response to the move from OPEC, which comes ahead of the busy summer travel months. Jean-Pierre responded that the administration would do “everything that we can to make sure that we lower costs and meet the American people where they are,” asserting that policies enacted by Biden have previously mitigated increases in fuel prices.
“Analysts had said last year that prices were going to go up, and that did not happen. If anything, in fact, gasoline prices went down by $1.50 when it was at its peak this past summer. A lot of that is because of the actions that this president took,” she said. “Because of what the president did, because of the policies that he put forward, because of the actions that he put forward, we have seen those prices go down.”
Biden has repeatedly <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1622965916282793984" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that the United States witnessed the “fastest gas price decline in eight years” and annualized headline inflation, which has declined for “six months” due to his economic policies. Both assertions ignore the reality that energy costs and overall price level increases were much lower before he assumed control of the Oval Office: national average gas prices were $3.42 per gallon at the end of March 2023, according to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=EMM_EPMR_PTE_NUS_DPG&amp;f=W" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Energy Information Administration, marking a 44% increase from $2.38 per gallon in January 2021.
Jean-Pierre claimed that the Inflation Reduction Act, which earmarked $369 billion for various renewable energy initiatives, helped to reduce fuel expenses by increasing “energy security.” She also asserted that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, two of the other landmark legislative actions from the Biden administration, have been “critical and important” to decreasing prices at the pump.
Biden has nevertheless garnered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-release-more-oil-from-strategic-reserve-ahead-of-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticism</a> for approving the release of 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil created to manage supply disruptions in energy markets, thereby depleting the reservoir even as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">costs</a> to refill the stores are now elevated. He also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-wall-street-ceo-slams-biden-for-going-hat-in-hand-to-saudi-arabia-for-oil-admits-investors-dont-give-a-s-about-wokeness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">moved</a> last year to enable American oil production in Venezuela and asked Saudi Arabia to delay oil production cuts until after the midterm elections.
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One reporter asked Jean-Pierre whether Biden would consider jettisoning more supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve or soliciting more fuel from Venezuela. The official brushed off the question by saying she would not “get into hypotheticals” and claiming that “what the president has done has worked.”

Karine Jean-Pierre

‘What The President Has Done Has Worked’: Jean-Pierre Claims Biden Gas Price Policies Will Lessen Impact Of Latest OPEC Move

Karine Jean-Pierre Claims Biden Gas Price Policies Will Lessen Impact Of OPEC Production Cut

Executive

Gas Prices

Politics

Saudi Arabia, whose relationship with the United States has taken a nosedive during President Joe Biden’s tenure, announced on Sunday it would lead the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Russia, to cut over one million barrels of output a day starting next month, which could cause higher U.S. inflation.
Saudi Arabia also stated it would cut production by another 500,000 barrels a day starting in May. Oil prices <a href="https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1642653031576530946?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet">soared</a> 7.5% at the week’s open after the Saudi announcement. Kevin Book, managing director of Clearview Energy Partners, told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opec-production-cuts-oil-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a> the cuts could cause U.S. gasoline prices to rise roughly 26 cents per gallon.
The move on Sunday follows OPEC’s decision last October to reduce production by two million barrels a day. “There’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done with Russia,&#8221; Biden <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-warns-will-consequences-saudi-arabia-oil-production-cut-rcna51804" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened</a> in October. “I’m not going to get into what I’d consider and what I have in mind. But there will be — there will be consequences.”
“President Biden said he would make the kingdom of Saudi Arabia a pariah state. That was an enormous mistake,” former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pompeo-biden-calling-saudi-arabia-pariah-state-enormous-mistake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “But let&#8217;s look at the facts. They are an important security partner for the United States. There&#8217;s only one country in that whole region that wants to threaten the United States of America and Israel and wipe us from the face of the earth. That&#8217;s the leadership in Iran and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia&#8217;s been an important partner in helping protect us from that threat.”
Unlike the warm relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia during the Trump administration, Biden’s actions, including <a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/11/21/DEMOCRATIC-DEBATE-JOE-BIDEN-SAUDI-ARABIA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling</a> Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in 2019 when he was running for president, have alienated the Saudis to the point that they have tried effecting a rapprochement with Iran, their greatest enemy, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-proposes-locations-saudi-arabia-fm-meeting-2023-03-19/">brokered</a> by China. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016.
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“Given the preventive nature of OPEC decisions, there is clearly something OPEC knows about demand trends and inventories that we have yet to discover fully in overall supply and demand balances,” Christyan Malek, global head of energy strategy at JP Morgan, told <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/opec-members-set-to-cut-production-voluntarily-761602d1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
Ole Hansen, an oil analyst at Denmark’s Saxo Bank, opined that the Saudi decision was indicative of their worries that interest rates in the U.S. will increase.

President Biden Departs The White House For Mississippi

Chilled By Biden, Saudi Arabia Leads OPEC To Cut Oil Production. Gas Prices Could Soar.

Joe Biden

Saudi Arabia

President Joe Biden is weak &#8212; both physically and politically.
During the presidential campaign, Biden repeatedly said he would restore America&#8217;s name in the world (Democrats always deride Republicans and claim foreign leaders despise them). He&#8217;s done just the opposite.
Russian President Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine while Donald Trump was president, but he felt Biden was impotent &#8212; wouldn&#8217;t stop him and couldn&#8217;t rally foreign support sufficient to thwart an invasion.
China has been eating Biden&#8217;s lunch, openly courting Russia and Iran and snubbing U.S. efforts to close the massive trade gap. And Saudi Arabia all but laughed in the president&#8217;s face when he flew there to beg for oil.
Biden was hoping for the Saudis to ramp up production by 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day. They agreed to an increase &#8212; but just 100,000 barrels (America uses about 20 million barrels a day).
Then earlier this month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced it would slash production by 2 million barrels a day. That announcement came just a month before the U.S. midterm elections.
A White House leaker said Biden had actually begged the Saudis not to cut production before the elections, and the White House on Thursday put its spin on the leak.
“We presented Saudi Arabia with analysis to show that there was no market basis to cut production targets, and that they could easily wait for the next OPEC meeting to see how things developed,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
Biden has accused gas companies in the U.S. of price gouging and blasts OPEC for cutting production as gas prices soar. But he&#8217;s so weak that Saudi leaders came out and ripped him a new one.
The Foreign Ministry blasted White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s claim that the October 5 action by OPEC+ “align[ed] their energy policy with Russia’s war aims and against the American people.”
“[T]hese statements … are not based on facts, and …. are based on portraying the OPEC+ decision out of its purely economic context,” the ministry said. “Saudi Arabia affirms that any attempts to distort the facts about the Kingdom’s position regarding the crisis in Ukraine are unfortunate and will not change the Kingdom’s principled position.”
The Biden administration has repeatedly threatened “consequences” against Saudi Arabia over the production cut, but so far, nothing.
The Saudi diss came just three months after Biden visited the kingdom and fist-bumped Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in what was clearly an open effort to spur production.
It backfired.
Biden talked tough in November 2019 when he faced off with other Democrats at a presidential nomination debate in November 2019. The subject at hand was Saudi Arabia and the killing of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.
“I would make it very clear we were not going to in fact sell more weapons to them,” Biden said. “We were going to in fact make them pay the price and make them in fact the pariah that they are.”
Biden went further, saying there is “very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia.”
But he&#8217;s far too weak to do anything now, and both the Saudis &#8212; and Putin &#8212; know that.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

Royal Court of Saudi Arabia / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Biden Begging Saudis Not To Cut Oil Production Before Elections Shows Just How Weak He Is

Biden Begging Saudis Not To Cut Oil Production Before Elections Shows How Weak He Is

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) recently argued that soaring <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gasoline prices</a> in his district are largely induced by actions from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/saudi-arabia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saudi Arabia</a> to restrict oil production.
Saudi Arabia joined <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russia</a> and other members of OPEC+ in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/saudi-arabia-helps-russia-cut-oil-output-in-slight-to-united-states-sending-prices-soaring" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slashing petroleum output</a> by two million barrels per day beginning in November, constituting 2% of global oil demand. Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley, argued during an <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1580316231353061377?s=43&amp;t=KXFn2BE04ddgBtjy_hAyzw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Fox Business that the kingdom bears much of the responsibility for high energy prices.
“First, I blame the Saudis. They are totally outrageous and ungrateful in cutting production and hurting the American people,” Khanna said, also blaming the Federal Reserve for “buying back corporate bonds and mortgages for way too long” and Russian President Vladimir Putin for causing “aggravated supply chains” through the Ukraine invasion.
Gas prices in California have reached an average of $6.20 per gallon, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from AAA, while prices in Khanna’s district have reached $6.50 per gallon. One year ago, prices at the pump were $4.45 per gallon.
During a visit to Saudi Arabia three months ago, President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-reveals-the-next-phase-of-american-involvement-in-the-middle-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touted</a> the necessity to “ensure adequate supplies” of energy and fulfill “global needs.” Though he did not specifically mention oil, many had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adam-schiff-rips-biden-for-fist-bumping-saudi-crown-prince" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speculated</a> that encouraging higher output in response to elevated gas prices in the United States was a primary factor behind Biden’s visit — a suspicion that appeared to be validated after the Saudi government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-threat-after-saudis-nix-midterm-friendly-oil-plan-looks-like-quid-pro-quo-says-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a statement</a> this week revealing Biden’s request to delay the production cut until after the midterm elections.
In another Fox Business <a href="https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6313427837112#sp=show-clips" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a>, Khanna said that the Saudis betrayed the United States, the nation’s primary supplier of military equipment, through the decision to reduce petroleum output.
“The priority is to get gas prices low, and what we need to do is be very tough on Saudi Arabia,” he told anchor Neil Cavuto. “After all we have done for that country … for them to do this to the American people is outrageous, and we should say that if they don’t reverse their decision, we are going to stop sending them weapons.”
The Biden administration has garnered criticism for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/keystone-pipeline-dead-killed-by-biden-thousands-of-jobs-lost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nixing</a> expansions to the Keystone XL pipeline and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-severely-cuts-back-on-oil-and-gas-leases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slowing</a> federal oil leases to a crawl. When pressed by Cavuto on why regulators are discouraging domestic oil production, Khanna noted that energy producers have neglected to invest in refinery capacity. Cavuto retorted that incentives to build new refineries would be foolish given the administration’s preference for renewable energy.
Members of the Biden administration have indeed contended that high fuel costs should provoke a transition toward renewable energy rather than the prioritization of raising domestic output. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-country-controls-the-wind-and-the-sun-janet-yellen-touts-hundreds-of-billions-in-climate-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> last month that the Inflation Reduction Act, which was recently passed into law, contains reforms that will prevent American reliance on foreign oil.
“Over the past two years in particular, we’ve seen the direct consequences of our continued dependence on fossil fuels. Not only do we continue to contribute and subject ourselves to a rapidly warming climate,” Yellen remarked, “but we expose ourselves to the type of energy market volatility we’ve experienced in the wake of Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine. No country controls the wind and the sun. And countries that can harness those sources of energy will make their economies more resilient and secure.”

Senate Leaders Work To End Impasse On Russia Trade Legislation

‘I Blame The Saudis’: Democrat Congressman Responds To Gas Prices Hitting $6.50 In His District

Congressman Ro Khanna Says Saudi Arabia Is Largely To Blame For High Gas Prices

Saudi Arabia slammed President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration in a statement Wednesday for trying to pressure OPEC+ into not cutting oil production before next month&#8217;s midterm elections, saying that the decision would have had &#8220;negative economic consequences.&#8221;
The Saudi-led OPEC+ oil cartel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/saudi-arabia-helps-russia-cut-oil-output-in-slight-to-united-states-sending-prices-soaring">announced</a> earlier this month that member states would cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day starting in just a couple of weeks, which triggered backlash from the Biden administration.
Biden responded to the announcement that there would be &#8220;consequences&#8221; for Saudi Arabia&#8217;s actions, although he did not give specifics. The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/us/politics/biden-saudi-arabia-oil-production-cut.html">reported</a> that Biden &#8220;expressed openness to retaliatory measures offered by congressional Democrats such as curbing arms sales or permitting legal action against the cartel.&#8221;
The administration wanted Saudi Arabia to wait another month until OPEC+ members were expected to meet again on November 3rd to make any decisions. That date is just days before the U.S. midterm elections.
Saudi Arabia released a statement Wednesday expressing its &#8220;total rejection&#8221; of claims that the decision was &#8220;politically motivated&#8221; against the United States. Saudi Arabia voted this week at the United Nations to condemn Russia for annexing territories in Ukraine.
&#8220;The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would also like to clarify that based on its belief in the importance of dialogue and exchange of views with its allies and partners outside the OPEC + group regarding the situation in the oil markets, the Government of the Kingdom clarified through its continuous consultation with the US Administration that all economic analyses indicate that postponing the OPEC+ decision for a month, according to what has been suggested, would have had negative economic consequences,&#8221; Saudi Arabia said in the statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Remarkable statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry revealing that the U.S. suggested to delay the OPEC announcement by one month (ostensibly for election purposes) and rejecting “dictates.” <a href="https://t.co/hSbM9pkeUm">https://t.co/hSbM9pkeUm</a>
&mdash; Mohammed Alyahya محمد اليحيى (@7yhy) <a href="https://twitter.com/7yhy/status/1580438753436323841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, dodged a couple of questions during a CNN interview this week about whether the kingdom was worried by threats from Biden, but he did address threats from Democrats to freeze arm sales to Saudi Arabia and pull U.S. troops out of the country.
&#8220;What I can tell you is that the sale of defensive weapons to Saudi Arabia serves the interests of the U.S. and serves the interests of Saudi Arabia and serves the interests of security and stability in the Middle East,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The presence of American forces in the Middle East has been here for many, many decades. They are here to protect the stability and security of the Middle East and the stability and security of the United States.&#8221;
&#8220;The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have had a very strong relationship for eight decades,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;They have been very close partners in fighting extremism and terrorism and maintaining stability and security in defending the region. And have been very close allies in terms of economic and trade, an investment and we hope that this relationship we&#8217;ll look forward to this relationship continuing for the next eight decades.&#8221;
The decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production comes as the Biden administration was <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/10/dems-rage-at-saudis-over-oil-cut-vow-to-block-weapons-sales-00061123" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quietly</a> pressuring the kingdom to increase its production of oil to lower fuel prices ahead of the election since U.S. families have suffered at the pump throughout the Biden-era.
&#8220;So Joe Biden refuses to say whether he would support cutting off arms supplies to Saudi Arabia after the Saudis rejected his request to increase oil supply in a slowing economy — a request made for a specified period of time, until right after the election,&#8221; Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro responded. &#8220;This looks an awful lot like the president of the United States threatening to remove weaponry from a purported ally unless that ally performs actions that help that president politically in advance of an election. Wasn&#8217;t Trump impeached for that?&#8221;
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This looks an awful lot like the president of the United States threatening to remove weaponry from a purported ally unless that ally performs actions that help that president politically in advance of an election. Wasn&#39;t Trump impeached for that?
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1580453568422629377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
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President Biden Visits Los Angeles

Saudi Arabia Torches Biden For Trying To Pressure OPEC Into Not Cutting Oil Production Before Midterms

Last week, Saudi Arabia announced, in conjunction with OPEC+, that it would be cutting oil production in the face of dropping prices. That decision came in spite of the Biden White House’s lobbying in favor of increased production, which included a sycophantic visit by Biden to Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. In response to the Saudi announcement, the White House quickly announced that the United States would be re-evaluating its relationship with the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the White House announced that it would be “preparing to scale down sanctions” on Venezuela’s tyrannical regime, according to the Wall Street Journal. The goal: increased oil production from the Marxist dictatorship via loosened restrictions on pumping for Chevron. The White House continues to keep channels open with the Iranian mullahs as well, soliciting concessions from the same regime that shoots women in the streets for failing to properly wear Islamic head-coverings.
There is an obvious question to be asked in the face of this random and chaotic non-strategy: why, precisely, doesn’t the Biden Administration just ramp up energy production by unleashing the power of America’s oil industry? After all, America is still the world’s leading supplier of oil and natural gas. And we have billions of dollars in investment sitting on the sidelines; refineries have been dropping offline and energy companies transitioning away from the precise forms of fuel that actually power the globe. 
The answer is just as obvious: this administration is far more tied to its ideological predilections than to reality. Actually, reality actively angers this administration: when it fosters a foolish policy and predictably dire results follow, the administration’s response is pique at that cause-and-effect relationship. This administration pursues green energy boondoggles while begging for energy from America’s foes, watches those foes hold Europe hostage in the midst of a potential nuclear standoff – and then, of course, yells about how cruel our foes are for cutting off energy supplies to our allies. This is both unproductive and geopolitically imbecilic.
But at least it makes the leaders of the free world feel warm and fuzzy inside. And if America’s enemies gain comparative power, at least we’ll have the comfort of snootily lecturing those enemies on the certainty of their political isolation; as State Department Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein recently stated, “low income countries have seen that Saudi Arabia and Russia are colluding against them.”
Odd, then, that low-income countries are disproportionately siding with Russia and Saudi Arabia. Perhaps that has something to do with the continued dedication of wealthy westerners to the proposition that the most effective energy policy for rising from poverty ought to be phased out – that the ladder to prosperity ought to be pulled up behind rich European nations in the name of sophistry spouted by Swedish teenagers who specialize in cross-generational derisive contempt.
The West has surrendered wise policy – or even simply non-suicidal policy – in favor of allegiance to pipe dreams. Then we wonder just why reality seems to keep collapsing in on us like an abandoned house.

Ben Shapiro 2

America’s Suicidal Energy Policy Has Very Real Costs

Ben Shapiro

Iran

Venezuela

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> (D) said on a hot mic in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday that &#8220;no one f***s with a Biden,&#8221; a remark that came hours after Russia and Saudi Arabia effectively did just that.
Biden made the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-one-fs-with-a-biden-president-delivers-spicy-remark-via-hot-mic-in-florida">comment</a> while speaking to Fort Myers Beach Mayor Ray Murphy during his trip to survey the damage that Hurricane Ian, a near Category 5 hurricane, inflicted upon the state last week.
Biden&#8217;s remarks came after The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/05/business/economy-news-inflation-stocks">reported</a> that Russia and Saudi Arabia, acting as the leaders of the 23-member nation OPEC energy cartel, announced a massive reduction in oil production, a move that will likely send gas prices skyrocketing and cause political problems for the Biden administration.
The countries <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/7021.htm">agreed</a> to cut energy production by two million barrels of oil per day, which represents about 2% of global oil production.
The move is a major win for Russia, as the reduced supply will increase the price of oil, which will help Putin finance his war in Ukraine and will put additional strain on Europe&#8217;s support for Ukraine and their continued sanctions on Russia. Bill Farren-Price, the head of macro oil and gas analysis at Enverus, said, “This is completely not what the White House wants, and it is exactly what Russia wants.”
&#8220;Biden thought it would be a political win for OPEC to increase production, so the US wouldn’t have to, thereby avoiding the wrath of green elites in his party,&#8221; environmental writer Michael Shellenberger wrote. &#8220;Instead, he’s undermined America’s standing in the world, helped Putin, and worsened inflation.&#8221;
The Biden administration responded by announcing that they would release 10 million more barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in November around the midterm elections.
“We are always talking to all producers and consumers, including OPEC Plus partners,” Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said. “That’s been the case for decades and across bipartisan administrations, including this one. We’ve been clear that energy supply should meet demand to support economic growth and lower prices for consumers around the world, and we will continue to talk with our partners about that.”
The announcement Wednesday comes three months after Biden visited Saudi Arabia and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a trip that was driven &#8220;in part by a desire to convince Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, to increase oil production which would help bring down the then-skyrocketing gasoline prices.&#8221;
OPEC initially responded by agreeing to increase production by a measly 100,000 barrels per day, leading to harsh criticisms of yet another Biden failure on the foreign policy front.
With <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">member states</a> 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 <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/data_graphs/330.htm#:~:text=According%20to%20current%20estimates%2C%2080.4,67.1%25%20of%20the%20OPEC%20total." target="_blank" rel="noopener">oil reserves</a>, with 67% coming from Middle Eastern members. Russia has coordinated oil output with OPEC since 2016.
Ben Zeisloft contributed to this report.

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Biden Declared ‘No One F***s With A Biden’; Russia And Saudi Arabia Just Did In A Big Way

Biden Declared 'No One F***s With A Biden’; Russia And Saudi Arabia Just Did In A Big Way

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/news/definitive-proof-that-white-house-flack-karine-jean-pierre-is-a-bald-faced-liar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> is in scramble mode to avoid skyrocketing gas prices after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OPEC</a>+ announced it would be cutting millions of barrels of oil per day, but the<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Biden administration&#8217;</a>s concern has nothing to do with sound policy or cheaper gas prices for the American people. It is evident that President Joe Biden and his gang are attempting to save face and stave off a shellacking like no other in this year&#8217;s midterm elections.
Biden traveled to Saudia Arabia in July to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adam-schiff-rips-biden-for-fist-bumping-saudi-crown-prince" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fistbump</a> the Saudi crown prince and reportedly beg that his kingdom ramp up oil production. At the time, Biden was dealing with months of high gas prices, which he blamed on the war in Ukraine. To help increase the supply of gasoline, Biden released millions of barrels of oil from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The SPR was never supposed to be a long-term solution; its primary purpose is to provide fuel to the U.S. in times of crisis. It has a limit and America needs to keep some oil in reserves for actual emergencies — not ones created by the green energy cabal in the federal government.
Biden has no idea what to do because he has spent the past three years campaigning and governing on the promise that he would, in effect, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-pain-is-the-point-energy-secretary-blasted-after-saying-summer-gas-prices-were-going-to-be-rough" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shut down the oil industry</a>. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) concisely broke down how we arrived at this situation.
&#8220;Let’s be clear about what happened,&#8221; Scalise <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveScalise/status/1577680076904308736?s=20&amp;t=tJc-aA-D94WVqkVwn2z0iw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>. &#8220;1. Biden destroyed America&#8217;s oil/gas industry and made us dependent on OPEC again. 2. Biden begged OPEC to produce more oil. 3. OPEC is doing the opposite—cutting output by 2 million barrels a day.&#8221;
&#8220;Total failure,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;OPEC is laughing at him.&#8221;
According to CNN, sources within the White House describe the cutback as a &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/04/politics/white-house-lobby-opec-oil-production-cuts-gasoline-prices-midterms/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">total disaste</a>r.&#8221; As flagged by National Review, one White House official <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/opec-gives-biden-and-u-s-consumers-the-middle-finger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the administration is &#8220;panicking.&#8221;
Now, the White House&#8217;s only move to try and slow rising gas prices is to release even more oil from the SPR even as it is at <a href="https://www.delekus.com/2022/09/23/us-strategic-petroleum-reserve-reaches-historic-lows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">record lows</a>.
Shortly after OPEC+ gave Biden the cold shoulder, his administration announced that it would be releasing even more oil from the SPR. As pointed out by Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich, just yesterday, the White House said it wasn&#8217;t <a href="https://twitter.com/JacquiHeinrich/status/1577684308529135619?s=20&amp;t=Mcd6UVTn1uuIpNC0Ay77Mg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considering</a> that as an option.
&#8220;Joe Biden draining our oil reserves just to mitigate Democrat losses in the midterm election might be the most despicable thing a president has ever done,&#8221; conservative host Jesse Kelly observed.
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Joe Biden draining our oil reserves just to mitigate Democrat losses in the midterm election might be the most despicable thing a president has ever done.
&mdash; Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1577717248164335635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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As <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/05/gas-prices-democrats-midterms-opec-00057239" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analyzed</a> by Politico, OPEC+&#8217;s decision &#8220;is feeding an autumn of anxiety for Democrats over energy inflation as prices at the gas pump march higher&#8221; and promoting worry that momentum &#8220;could swing in Republicans’ favor in the midterm election.&#8221;
Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy and a top oil adviser in the George W. Bush administration, was a bit blunter in his characterization of the situation for Biden.
“The Biden administration is looking at a guillotine blade across its neck and it’s going to fall soon,” McNally said. “That is going to cause a really large and sudden drop off in Russian oil production and trigger another oil price spike.”
Yet as explained by Paul Bledsoe of the Progressive Policy Institute and a former Clinton administration climate change adviser, “The corner gas price is the single most important number in American politics, especially for the party in power.&#8221;
As that number creeps back up, you don&#8217;t have to be an energy expert like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/struggling-artist-hunter-biden-asks-for-lower-child-support-payments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden</a> to see that it spells bad news for the Democrats.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Fist Bump Fail: Biden Scrambling Before Midterms After OPEC+ Cuts Oil

2022 Election

2022 Midterms

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/saudi-arabia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saudi Arabia</a> helped Russia push for higher worldwide <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/oil-prices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oil</a> prices on Wednesday alongside other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opec" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OPEC</a>).
The alliance announced that member states would cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day beginning in November, constituting 2% of global oil demand. Russian fuel is currently trading worldwide at a discount as European consumers refrain from purchasing the nation’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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24">release more oil</a> from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which are presently at their lowest levels in four decades.
With <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm">member states</a> 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 <a href="https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/data_graphs/330.htm#:~:text=According%20to%20current%20estimates%2C%2080.4,67.1%25%20of%20the%20OPEC%20total.">oil reserves</a>, with 67% coming from Middle Eastern members. Russia has coordinated oil output with OPEC since 2016.
The news comes as relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, long considered a key economic ally in the Middle East, are strained due to President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sleepy-biden-doesnt-know-if-hes-going-to-saudi-arabia-hint-joe-you-are">calling the nation</a> a “pariah” during the 2020 election cycle — an accusation that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-saudi-spy-chief-offers-brutal-appraisal-of-biden-amid-trip-to-kingdom">stems</a> from the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had been 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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/adam-schiff-rips-biden-for-fist-bumping-saudi-crown-prince">speculated</a> that encouraging higher output in response to elevated gas prices in the United States was a primary factor behind Biden’s visit.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said on Wednesday that the plan from OPEC to cut petroleum output proves that the United States should 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 argued during an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/05/time-for-us-to-reevaluate-saudi-relationship-sen-chris-murphy-says.html">interview</a> with CNBC.
The national average price of gasoline in the United States was $2.38 per gallon when Biden assumed office and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gas-prices-are-1-50-higher-since-biden-took-office-cnn-business-america-got-a-raise">increased</a> to $3.53 per gallon by the start of the invasion of Ukraine. After surpassing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gas-prices">$5.00 per gallon</a> in early June, prices have somewhat subsided to $3.83 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to <a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/">data</a> from AAA. However, gas prices in Los Angeles County, California, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-03/gas-prices-los-angeles-california-united-states">reached</a> an all-time high on Monday as the cost for a gallon of regular fuel hit $6.47.
Other Democratic officials have contended that the high fuel costs should provoke a transition toward renewable energy. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-country-controls-the-wind-and-the-sun-janet-yellen-touts-hundreds-of-billions-in-climate-spending">speech</a> last month that the Inflation Reduction Act, which was recently passed into law, contains reforms that will prevent American reliance on foreign oil.
“Over the past two years in particular, we’ve seen the direct consequences of our continued dependence on fossil fuels. Not only do we continue to contribute and subject ourselves to a rapidly warming climate,” Yellen remarked, “but we expose ourselves to the type of energy market volatility we’ve experienced in the wake of Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine. No country controls the wind and the sun. And countries that can harness those sources of energy will make their economies more resilient and secure.”

US President Joe Biden in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Helps Russia Cut Oil Output In Slight To United States, Sending Prices Soaring

Foreign Policy

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