Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said politicians claiming that reopening the Keystone XL Pipeline would lower gas prices are simply recycling the “same old D.C. B.S.” at Wednesday’s CERAWeek.
“We can’t do it if we’re fighting internal battles,” Granholm said. “There are some here, or maybe at least lobbyists or beltway politicians who seem to think that this is the time to recycle old talking points. You know this, I mean people are arguing that if a pipeline that wouldn’t have even been in operation by now were still under construction, the situation with today’s oil prices would be different, or that President Biden’s policies have decreased production when we’re actually at record-levels of natural gas and LNG and will be at record-levels of oil production hopefully by next year.”
“We all know that that is the same old D.C. B.S.,” she said.
Granholm said the Department of Energy and the administration are ready to “seize the moment” with clean energy. (RELATED: Granholm Says Biden Is ‘All Over’ Gas Prices, Can’t List Any Policies To Lower Prices)
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki claimed Monday that the U.S. is producing oil at “record numbers,” though Fox Business anchor David Asman debunked her claims, saying the country produces 1.5 million oil barrels less than in December 2019.
In 2019, the U.S. produced 12.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, which then dropped below 11.6 million and is expected to reach 12 million throughout 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The Keystone XL Pipeline was intended to carry 8,000 barrels of oil from Canada to Texas, but was shut down by President Joe Biden’s administration when the president first entered office. Psaki has repeatedly said reversing the pipeline decision would not bring down oil and gas prices when pressed on the issue.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, average gas prices exceeded $4 per gallon and are expected to continue rising due to the Tuesday ban on all imports of Russian oil. The administration is now seeking to lift sanctions off Venezuela’s energy sector to obtain the necessary supply of oil and control rising costs.