The United States is embroiled in an increasingly intense quest to replace the oil supplies it received from Russia as it tries to mend diplomatic differences abroad and increase production at home to keep fuel prices from spiraling out of control.
Jennifer Granholm, the US energy secretary, told an audience of industry executives on Wednesday that the country was on “war footing”, adding: “That means producing more now, where and if it’s possible.” .
His call for domestic oil companies to expand supplies is a U-turn for the Biden administration, which has been polishing its green credentials, and underscores the new political reality after the US banned oil and gas imports from Russia this summer. week.
In yet another sign of the problems caused by that ban, the US has been criticized by Colombia, one of its main South American allies, for appearing to lay the groundwork for resuming oil imports from Venezuela.
Last weekend, American diplomats traveled to Venezuela, with which Washington broke diplomatic ties in 2019, and experts said that could indicate a easing of sanctions on the country.
Gasoline prices hit new highs at more than $4.25 a gallon in the U.S., risking political damage for President Joe Biden as congressional elections approach. .
US domestic oil production, which plummeted during the pandemic oil crisis, remains well below all-time highs, in part because investors have told companies to prioritize dividends and cash flow over new prospecting campaigns.
Granholm, speaking at the CERAWeek conference in Houston (Texas), called on the US oil industry to forge a new partnership with the federal government. “In this moment of crisis, we need more supply,” she said.
Brent, the international benchmark for oil, rose to $139 a barrel, the highest since 2008, earlier this week. The price dropped to $111 on Wednesday, partially pressured after the UAE said it would encourage other OPEC members to increase oil production. It was the first member of the producer alliance to do so since Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
Granholm’s comments came a day after Amos Hochstein, a senior US State Department official, said shale oil producers should do “whatever it takes” to increase supply.
The US overture to Caracas has raised concern from Colombian government officials, who told the Financial Times that recruiting Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro regime to supply more oil would be politically problematic and technically unfeasible.
“It’s not up to me to judge or justify,” said Iván Duque, Colombia’s president. “But nothing is going to change my opinion about Maduro being a war criminal or being the equivalent of a [Slobodan] Latin American Milosevic, because he brutalized his own country,” he added, referring to Serbia’s late leader.
Duque added that the US, along with many other Western governments, does not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president after Washington labeled the 2018 elections as fraudulent.
“If you’ve just banned oil from what they call a Russian dictator, it’s hard to explain why you’re going to buy oil from the Venezuelan dictator,” Diego Mesa, Colombia’s energy minister, said in a side interview with the CERAWeek conference.
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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