“Contracts are contracts and remain valid”. White House communications chief Kate Bedingfield said in her press conference about Vladimir Putin’s threats to charge for gas only in rubles. “German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was clear and we agree with him,” he specified.
Here, meanwhile, is Joe Biden’s shocking move in the West’s energy war against the Kremlin against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. After the embargo on Russian energy products was imposed, the CommanderinChief is drawing heavily on strategic oil reserves, announcing the release of one million barrels a day over the next six months for a total of 180 million barrels to fight inflation and expensive gasoline ” caused by the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin”. “It’s the largest release of oil reserves in history,” an “unprecedented” move, Biden said, explaining that the additional supplies will “alleviate the suffering of Americans” who “pay for a dictator’s decisions” and “act as a bridge.” serve”. by the end of the year when domestic production will increase”.
“We will not allow Putin to exploit his energy resources,” he warned, adding that the tsar now appears to be “isolated” and he will “fire some of his advisers or place them under house arrest.” The President has also lashed out at US oil companies who are sitting on their record profits (“$80 billion last year”) without pumping more crude oil by taking advantage of the warinduced price hike (“some like that hike”).
Biden’s decision forestalled the OPEC+ meeting, which was limited to an incremental and modest increase of just 432,000 barrels per day, despite urging from the international community to significantly increase crude oil production. But already the first rumors about Biden’s plan were enough to bring the price of black gold down (by about 4%) on the main world markets from New York to London after the record above $130 a barrel in early March. .
The White House tenant had already drawn on strategic reserves, releasing 50 million barrels in November and another 30 in early March, but to little effect. Now he’s taking a bold step to calm the onslaught of consumer prices, which continued to rise 6.4% per year (0.6% monthly) in March, and gasoline, which is still above $4 a gallon . For Biden, inflation is the biggest domestic concern because it risks jeopardizing the November midterm elections, which Democrats are already struggling with. All polls indicate that the cost of living is the number one concern for Americans. Thus, the President did not hesitate to resort to the extreme means of strategic reserves created in 1975 against oil shocks and stored in huge caves up to 800 meters deep along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico: currently they count 568 million barrels, but they can be up to Save 714 million.
The President also announced two other initiatives on the energy front: on the one hand, he asked Congress to fine oil companies that do not produce in the states where they are licensed, on the other hand he invoked a ’50s martial law to ensure the production of key minerals (such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite) needed for electric vehicle batteries.
The American leader continues to push for sanctions: the latest round announced by the Treasury Department blacklists 13 people and 21 companies “as part of the repression of the network to circumvent sanctions against Russia (like the company Serniya Engineering, ed. Red.) and technology companies “that play a crucial role in the Russian war machine”.