White House Accuses US Oil Companies of Exploiting Ukraine Conflict to Boost Profits

© AFP 2023 / JOE RAEDLEAn oil pumpjack works in the Permian Basin oil field on March 13, 2022 in Odessa, Texas.
An oil pumpjack works in the Permian Basin oil field on March 13, 2022 in Odessa, Texas.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 15.06.2022
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday accused US oil companies of taking advantage of the Ukraine conflict to boost profits.
"Oil companies, they have oil refineries, they have a responsibility too, [but] what they have been doing is taking advantage of the war and as I showed earlier, they have tripled their income," Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing.
The White House spokesperson said such practices are a problem and oil companies must act now to bring down prices for consumers.
The US Department of Energy will have a meeting on the matter later this week, Jean-Pierre added.
ExxonMobil logo - Sputnik International, 1920, 14.06.2022
Democrat Senator Proposes 21% Federal Surtax on Profitable US Oil Companies - Reports
US President Joe Biden sent a letter to seven major oil companies this week, urging them to ramp up their refinery capacity in an effort to reduce fuel costs at the pump for Americans.
In the letter to Marathon Petroleum Corp, Valero Energy Corp, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66, Chevron, BP and Shell, the president noted that oil refineries in the United States significantly reduced their capacity during the pandemic, leaving American refinery companies "at their lowest capacity in more than a half decade."
Biden said the refiners' margins for refining gasoline and diesel have tripled since the beginning of the year and are at the highest levels ever recorded.
The closure of several refineries during the height of the coronavirus pandemic has reduced US oil refining capacity. A shortage of crude, including due to the collective West’s comprehensive sanctions against Russia, has further contributed to record high prices of both diesel and gasoline in the United States.
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