White House Accuses OPEC of ‘Aligning With Russia’ as Biden Faces More Midterm Pressure

The White House on Wednesday sharply criticized the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, after its members decided to implement a significant cut to oil production.

The group of significant oil producers, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced it would slash oil production by 2 million barrels per day. For months, the Biden administration attempted to lobby the Saudi kingdom to produce more oil, with President Joe Biden even visiting Saudi Arabia in July.

“The President is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said in a statement on Wednesday morning after OPEC’s announcement.

Their statement touted the White House’s recent actions to help “bring down U.S. gas prices” and confirmed that the “Department of Energy will deliver another 10 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve” to continue the “historic releases” that Biden ordered in March.

“The President will continue to direct SPR releases as appropriate to protect American consumers and promote energy security, and he is directing the Secretary of Energy to explore any additional responsible actions to continue increasing domestic production in the immediate term,” according to the statement.

Gas Prices

Gas prices surged to $5 on average nationwide in June. Since then, prices have steadily dropped as the Biden administration released oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to the American Automotive Association (AAA).

For the past several weeks, however, the average price for regular gas has again increased on a daily basis. It now stands at $3.83 per gallon as of Wednesday, AAA data shows, representing an uptick of about 7 cents from a week ago.

Gas

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