Gas prices hit $4 in all 50 states for the first time, national average reaches record high
FOX NewsMay 18, 2022
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its extended group of allied producers including Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed on Thurs. to ramp up oil production this summer after months of resistance amid soaring global energy prices due to the war in Ukraine.
The oil cartel said that it would increase supply by 648K barrels per day in July and by 200K barrels per day in Aug., which is more than was scheduled under a supply agreement with other producers.
Though Russia's war in Ukraine has disrupted global petroleum markets, Biden has made things worse by implementing anti-fossil fuel policies and isolating the US' Gulf allies since the beginning of his presidency. He has failed to properly address this crisis, and he even canceled an oil and gas lease sale for over 1M acres in Alaska last week, citing a "lack of industry interest."
The spike in gas prices is a direct result of Russia's war on Ukraine, the ramp-up of sanctions on Russian oil, and continuing supply recovery problems following the pandemic. There's little that Biden could've done to prevent such a price hike, and gas prices aren't only rising in the US but across the Western world. OPEC's decision will hopefully alleviate the current crisis.