Pain at the Pump Returns – OPEC Cuts Oil Production, Prices Increase | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Brittany Raymer.

    Pain at the pump is set to return as prices rise after OPEC countries agree to decrease production. It's been reported that this decision is a rebuke to the Biden administration and its energy and foreign policy priorities. To offset the increase in cost and decreased supply, the government will continue to drain the country's strategic petroleum reserve without unleashing the power of American industry.

    As winter is about to set in, OPEC countries and Russia have agreed to cut production by 2 million barrels per day, despite pleas from the Biden administration to increase or maintain their current levels.

    This will cause oil prices to increase, which will pad the pockets of Vladimir Putin, disrupt the markets, impact inflation, amplify recession fears, and lead to Americans paying more at the pump.

    It's also a blow to President Joe Biden, who went to Saudi Arabia personally to plea for the Gulf country to maintain and or increase production. His requests were clearly ignored.

    "I am concerned, it is unnecessary," the president told reporters.

    "The President is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC Plus to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin's invasion of Ukraine," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said in a statement.

    The solution is to continue tapping the strategic petroleum reserve without investing in American energy independence and production. So far, the administration has authorized the release of 10 million more barrels from the reserve, which is currently at its lowest level in decades. Since the summer, there have already been 171 million barrels distributed from "the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil."

    That's not comforting as the colder months roll in and the Biden administration refuses to unleash the vast potential of the American energy sector, which has been stymied by the dangerous push towards green energy.

    According to Gas Buddy analyst Patrick De Ham, "he expects OPEC's decision to boost U.S. gas prices by roughly 15-30 cents per gallon on average. He projects that areas in the West Coast and Great Lakes where prices had already exploded will see declines, while he expects prices to rise in the South, Southeast, East Coast and New England."

    As Americans head to the polls for the midterms, it's likely that the economy and the price of gas will be foremost on their minds, which is bad for the White House.

    The simplest solution, though one that they refuse to employ, is to invest in the United States energy sector, instead of relying on dictators and fickle monarchies. This country has the potential to produce millions if not billions of barrels of oil for the world, which would shield America and her allies from the machinations of dictators like Putin.

    But the Biden administration won't do it and are willing to put off the costs on the American people.