We have a gasoline and diesel export problem. Oil production in the US has increased by a million barrels a day. The Strategic Reserve adds another million barrels of oil a day. Yet gas prices have gone up. The problem is we are exporting 25% of US production. Oil companies are selling to the highest bidder. That keeps US inventory low and prices up.
FYI, President Biden didn’t shut down the Keystone XL. It was Donald Trump’s Supreme Court that killed it. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling killing one of their permits. President Biden’s day one announcement regarding the Keystone was ceremony at best. The Keystone would be shut down even if Trump was re-elected.
We have less days of inventory and stock. We are exporting too much. Inventory and demand set gas prices. We should not be exporting record amounts of gas and oil when we are paying record amounts of prices for gas and diesel.
Former wheat harvest crew member here. If that oil tar sand stuff (has carcinogenic chemicals in it which causes cancer) got into the worlds largest American water aquifer, The Ogallala Aquifers, we would be so incredibly screwed. The water surface is near the top.
Second, here is a great article I would like to share:
- Opinion
Truthful conversation needed about the Keystone Pipeline | Opinion
Published: Jun. 06, 2022, 8:54 a.m.
By Guest editorial
By Calvin Clements
Springtime on a cattle farm is a busy time. Pregnancy checks, calves coming, synchronization for breeding and artificial insemination. So when my phone rang the other day and I took time out to talk to friend, I hoped it was important. We differ politically, but I respect his beliefs. After a few minutes of small talk, we got to the crux of the call. He wanted to lodge his complaint about the high gas prices and the fact that Joe Biden shut down the Keystone Pipeline.
I had to stop him immediately and ask where he acquired his information. He assured me it was highly accurate because the Republican Legislature in Harrisburg had passed a resolution asking that the Keystone Pipeline be turned back on! Really, can you imagine 28 state senators failed to do their homework and are wrong? You can’t turn on what was never shut off.
So, here are some true facts. The Keystone Pipeline opened in June of 2010. The pipeline extends from Hardisty, Alberta, and ends in Roxana and Patoka, Illinois. It delivers tar sands crude oil. The Keystone Pipeline delivers 675,000 barrels daily. At least three additional phases of the pipeline have been constructed and commissioned since 2010. The last phase in 2017 ended in Houston. All four segments of the original Keystone Pipeline are open and fully operational.
President Biden did not shut down the Keystone Pipeline. In January of 2021, he cancelled the Keystone XL Pipeline. Only 8 percent of the pipeline had been constructed in Canada. The project would have taken four to five years to complete. Cancellation came on the heels of concerns that the burning of oil sands hasten environmental changes that significantly contribute to global warming.
Environmental groups have projected that similar dollar investments in renewable energy sources would yield as many good paying jobs, provide equal – if not greater energy resources and significantly reduce environmental impact.
Gas prices have greatly accelerated from mid-pandemic levels when no one was driving, and gas was $1.68/gallon. A barrel of oil could barely fetch $20 below the cost of production. Obviously, new drilling was not going to happen in a market that did not yield profit. The United States has been, and continues to be, the number one oil producer in the world, but when drilling ceased the marketplace was set up for a rapid stockpile depletion when demand returned. Unfortunately, unforeseen geopolitical issues have also greatly affected the world supply.
I have often said that we control the price of utilities to ensure availability and fair pricing. I believe that the same controls are necessary for the oil and gas industry. A utilities style commission would promote continued exploration and drilling and guarantee fair profits and fair market prices.
I suspect that we all have our favorite theories for the cause of rising gas prices but telling inaccurate stories isn’t helpful and very divisive. We expect our leaders to be forthright regardless of political party.
Calvin Clements, DVM,CCRP, writes from Palmyra,