Team Brandon Slow Walks Restarting Shuttered Refineries

People always talk about the Biden admin reacting to everything happening, rather than getting ahead of the curve. Of course, government getting ahead of the curve is difficult in any government. That’s just the setup. What is it called when an administration is not just reacting, but, reacting months and months and months behind? Even a year behind?

White House Eyes Restarting Idle Refineries to Tame Fuel Prices

The Biden administration is reaching out to the oil industry to inquire about restarting shuttered refineries, as the White House scrambles to address record high-gasoline prices that are setting off political alarm bells ahead of the midterm elections.

Members of the National Economic Council and other officials have inquired within the industry about factors that led some refining operations to be curtailed and if plans are underway to restart capacity, a person familiar with the matter said. The person, who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record, added no direct ask to restart operations was made.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The administration’s efforts come as the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline stood at a record $4.60 Wednesday, just as the summer driving season is set to begin. In California, prices are more than $6 a gallon, according to AAA.

The pandemic shut down capacity by 4.5%. Doesn’t seem like much, but, it can make a difference. Many that closed due to the pandemic never reopened. Those that can reopen can take quite a bit of time to restart. The demand erosion created an issue with the refineries in the U.S. and around the world. Many do not want to restart, having shifted production to something else. Even if crude oil production was at full capacity, it is a matter of shipping it to the refineries, which are in short supply.

And Biden is a year behind on this. Really, though, you should expect the Biden admin to not want them online. They want high gas prices.

More than 1 million barrels a day of the country’s oil refining capacity — or about 5% overall — has shut since the beginning of the pandemic. Elsewhere in the world, capacity has shrunk by 2.13 million additional barrels a day, energy consultancy Turner, Mason & Co. estimates. And with no plans to bring new US plants online, even though refiners are reaping record profits, the supply squeeze is only going to get worse.

Remember, Democrats were not allowing new refineries to come online over the past 30-40 years, so, then we do have to rely on overseas refineries, who were also shuttered.

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