On Friday October 7 President Joe Biden visited the Volvo plant in Hagerstown, Maryland where truck engines and parts are manufactured. He commenced his speech to the 1700 plant workers by saying:
"Let me start off with two words--Made in America." (Yes, he said two!) Made in America is important to the country for our own prosperity as well as it is politically advantageous to the Commander in Chief.
But let us think about the oil and gas industry. According to the American Petroleum Institute there are about 10.3 million workers in that field. From day one in his presidency Joe Biden has targeted the fossil fuel industry with cancellation of its projects, with difficulties in obtaining leases for drilling, and with endless regulations to impede production.
Now just a few weeks before the mid-term elections we are faced with a shortage of oil, and gasoline prices are on their way up again. We are buying petroleum from other parts of the world, some hostile to our own way of life. Even Iran and Venezuela are on that list as existing or potential suppliers.
Whatever happened to our Made in America ideal? If we need the oil why buy from others when we have the capability here at home? What about our own workers? If the concern is global warming or climate change how is this affected by exchanging our own production for that purchased elsewhere? In fact, our own oil is considerably cleaner than that produced by most other countries, especially Venezuela.
Biden had earlier been petitioning Saudi Arabia for purchases but was rebuffed. Now last week OPEC, largely run by the Saudis, has announced that it will cut production by two million barrels per day. Once again OPEC is dictating the world price of oil. Two years ago, when we were a net exporter of petroleum products, we were setting the global prices. President Biden says he is "disappointed" by OPEC's cuts. But it should not be a surprise. They must be thinking that if we want more oil, we should increase our own production. They are looking out for their own interests. Why should they help us when the administration has said that fossil fuels--their life blood--are detrimental to the environment and should be phased out? We are losing the support of this former ally by these actions, while at the same time supporting their foe--Iran--by our questionable efforts to curtail that country's nuclear program.
Our European allies are entering the winter with a grim outlook for heating fuel. The problem is exacerbated by the recent explosion to the Nord Stream1 pipeline which brings natural gas from Russia to Europe. We have had the ability to provide liquified natural gas (LNG) to Europe, but that has not been supported by the current administration. Now Europe is considering the use of coal, where necessary, to alleviate the gas shortage.
A major part of the Administration's policy is to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR.) This reserve is contained in underground caverns in Texas and Louisiana that have been leached or quarried from ancient salt domes. The capacity is 714 million barrels. Early in the Biden administration they sold SPR product to other countries including China. Then, starting last March, we have been continuously removing 180 million barrels from that reserve. A further 10 million barrels will be released in November. The reserves are now down to about 400 million barrels, the lowest level of SPR since mid-1984. Some of the removals have been for further sales to China which is building its own strategic reserve while ours is being depleted. Our SPR was intended for use in emergencies, but it is now a political tool.
Biden is fulfilling his campaign promise to attempt to end this country's use of fossil fuels. He is well on his way to fulfilling that promise. I truly believe that the radical left wing of his party would like nothing better than to bankrupt this country's oil companies. Made in America is great so long as it doesn't apply to our own oil production.
Peter Gilderson, Madison.
