Oil prices remain high, Biden "seeks cooperation" with oil companies

　　Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 16 (Xinhua) -- U.
S.
President Joseph Biden on the 15th called on domestic refiners to increase gasoline and diesel production, because the profits of U.
S.
oil companies have tripled since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine in late February.
Consumers are suffering from record high oil prices
.

　　"Immediate action is needed to address the crisis facing (American) families," Biden said in a letter to domestic refiners.
"Your businesses need to work with my administration to deliver concrete, short-term solutions.
plan to deal with the crisis
.
”

　　According to the Associated Press, the average price of natural gas in the United States is now close to $5 per gallon (3.
785 liters), increasing the economic burden on many Americans and may lead to Biden's Democratic Party's defeat in the November congressional re-election, the midterm elections
.

　　Biden sent a letter to seven local oil companies including Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil and Valero Energy, saying that the average price of natural gas in the United States was $4.
25 per gallon in March, an increase of 75 cents in just a few months.
The company's lack of refining capacity and profits "reached a record high", adding to the suffering of the people
.

　　Biden said in the letter that the U.
S.
government has taken measures such as releasing the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try to offset the impact of the situation in Ukraine on oil prices, but the inaction of the oil industry is weakening the government's efforts
.

　　On the same day, White House press secretary Karina Jean-Pierre accused domestic oil companies of taking the opportunity to boost profits
.
She told reporters that the oil companies "have been taking advantage of the war .
.
.
their revenue has tripled"
.
She said there was something wrong with what oil companies were doing and action had to be taken now to lower prices
.

　　The Associated Press interprets that the Biden administration’s suggestion that oil prices have risen due to greed by oil companies is controversial in the eyes of many economists, but may resonate with voters
.

　　The Biden administration's release of the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the relaxation of high-content ethanol fuel sales have failed to push oil prices down
.
Jim Burckhardt, vice president of market research firm Essence Huamai, believes that the Biden administration cannot find new oil and gas suppliers like a conjuration, "but one thing that may help is that with the U.
S.
oil industry Form a more constructive relationship
.
So far, the two have been somewhat hostile
.
"

　　Biden has instructed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to hold an emergency meeting to ask oil companies to explain the decline in refining capacity since 2020, and hope that oil companies will provide specific solutions in terms of inventory, prices and production capacity to solve future data.
Monthly supply issues
.

　　The American Petroleum Institute said in a statement that the oil industry capacity cuts were driven by a Biden administration seeking to ditch fossil fuels
.
Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president of Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy, believes that U.
S.
refiners cannot increase capacity further than they already have, "if they could, they would have done it already
.
"