As President Joe Biden visits Saudi Arabia to plead with the kingdom to increase crude oil exports, some are wondering why he isn’t pursuing the same agenda at home.
After calling Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state during his presidential campaign, Biden now seems eager to reengage with the kingdom, which is the world’s largest crude oil exporter.
If Biden convinces the Saudis to open the floodgates on crude oil exports, it could help lower energy prices and curb US inflation, which remains one of the top political threats to his Democrats in November.
But his visit to the kingdom has already brought fresh political baggage, including an image of Biden punching Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman outside the royal palace in Jeddah.
Biden is seen fist bumping MBS at a meeting in Jeddah on Friday. After calling Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state, Biden seems eager to work again with the world’s largest oil exporter
Soaring gas prices and inflation have become a political millstone for Democrats — but some are wondering why Biden isn’t boosting US oil production instead of asking Saudi Arabia
Popularly known as MBS, bin Salman is the de facto Saudi leader who the CIA says ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the fist-blow has already sparked backlash from human rights defenders.
In response to Biden’s visit to Jeddah, the Wall Street Journal editorial board on Friday wrote, “Biden wouldn’t have to beg MBS if he shed his climate obsession and unleashed American oil production.”
“As with the Saudis, Team Biden took office in 2021 to turn the US oil and gas industry into a pariah,” the editorial added.
“That was a catastrophic miscalculation — economically for energy prices, strategically for Europe’s vulnerability to Vladimir Putin, and politically for the Democrats who face angry voters in November,” argued the Journal’s executive board.
The editorial argued that soaring oil prices have pushed Biden into a political corner, forcing him to seek more crude from unsavory foreign exporters or back out of policies that have hurt U.S. production.
“The world’s replacement oil suppliers today are the Saudis, Iran and Venezuela, and the Saudis in this crowd are St. Francis of Assisi,” the editorial noted.
“The other country that could produce more? The United States,” added the Journal.
A pump jack will be commissioned in Texas in 2019. US oil production remains well below 2019’s record production level of 12.3 million bpd
Gas prices have retreated from last month’s record levels but remain well above historical averages. Average gas prices can be seen above from Monday
US oil production collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing many marginal drilling and refining operations out of business.
But as the economy reopened, many companies were reluctant to make investments that would boost production amid the Biden administration’s tighter regulatory regime and uncertainty about future policy.
The oil industry blames a slew of Biden’s policies for the ripple in production, including revoking approval for the Keystone XL pipeline, proposals to increase taxes on the industry and tougher regulations on producers.
Biden said his approach is designed to tackle the threat of climate change, although critics argue he simply offshored fossil fuel production.
According to the latest available data from the US Energy Information Administration, US oil production fell 0.5 percent in April to about 11.6 million barrels a day.
It marked the lowest production since February and was well below 2019’s record high of 12.3 million bpd.
US inflation rose to 9.1 percent in June, the highest since 1981 and better than economists had forecast
Meanwhile, high oil prices have pushed gasoline costs to record highs and fueled rising inflation across the economy.
US inflation hit 9.1 percent year on year in June, the biggest increase since 1981, and energy prices rose 42 percent.
Gas prices hit a national record average of more than $5 a gallon last month but have since declined. On Friday, the national average was $4.58, according to the AAA.
After meeting with MBS on Friday, Biden said they had discussed energy and he expects action from Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, on energy in the coming weeks.
But the president faced backlash over the looks of his visit, including his fist bump with MBS.
The image of the friendly fist drew a sharp backlash from the editor of the Washington Post and the widow of Khashoggi, who was killed in a gruesome assassination that US intelligence officials say was ordered by Bin Salman.
A handout photo of President Joe Biden (left) being escorted by “MBS” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) to Al Salman Palace Friday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
A handout photo of President Joe Biden (left) seated next to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right)
Asked by a reporter about the criticism of the fist bump, Biden laughed and then said it was a “stupid question” when asked how he could be sure another murder like Khashoggi’s would not happen again .
Biden also insisted he addressed the murder of Khashoggi when he met bin Salman, who is often referred to by his initials MBS.
“Regarding the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the head of the meeting and made clear what I thought about it then and what I think about it now,” Biden told reporters from a Jeddah hotel after his meetings with the Saudis. “I was straight forward and direct… I was crystal clear about my opinions.”
“What happened to Khashoggi was outrageous,” Biden later said.
Biden told reporters MBS “basically said he wasn’t personally responsible” for the gruesome 2018 murder that took place at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
“I hinted that I thought he was,” Biden continued. “He said he was not personally responsible and took action against those responsible.”