Abbott on Biden’s Call on OPEC for More Oil: Stay Out of the Way, ‘Texas Can Do This’

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reacted to President Joe Biden and his administration blaming the increase in gas prices on an unstable global oil market after putting in place policies to kill historic gains in domestic energy production, including shuttering the Keystone XL Pipeline and pausing oil/gas exploration and production on public lands.

“Dear White House: Texas can do this,” Abbott tweeted. “Our producers can easily produce that oil if your administration will just stay out of the way.”

“Allow American workers—not OPEC—produce the oil that can reduce the price of gasoline,” Abbott tweeted. “Don’t make us dependent on foreign sources of energy.”:

Abbott included National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s statement issued on Wednesday:

Higher gasoline costs, if left unchecked, risk harming the ongoing global recovery. The price of crude oil has been higher than it was at the end of 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.

While OPEC+ recently agreed to production increases, these increases will not fully offset previous production cuts that OPEC+ imposed during the pandemic until well into 2022. At a critical moment in the global recovery, this is simply not enough.

President Biden has made clear that he wants Americans to have access to affordable and reliable energy, including at the pump. Although we are not a party to OPEC, the United States will always speak to international partners regarding issues of significance that affect our national economic and security affairs, in public and private. We are engaging with relevant OPEC+ members on the importance of competitive markets in setting prices. Competitive energy markets will ensure reliable and stable energy supplies, and OPEC+ must do more to support the recovery.

Under the Trump administration, the United States for the first time achieved energy independence and stopped relying on foreign, often hostile, sources for oil and gas.

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