US Energy Chief, Big Oil in Meeting Spared No Ideas to Lessen 'Pain' of Gas Prices, Shell Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and major US oil executives during a meeting on Thursday spared no effort to alleviate high gas prices in the United States, Shell USA President Gretchen Watkins told Sputnik.

"There was wide acknowledgment that Americans are feeling a lot of price pain and no ideas were spared in an effort to find solutions to that", Watkins said in a statement.

Granholm met with major oil executives, including from Chevron and ExxonMobil, in Washington to discuss efforts to boost US refinery capabilities to lower gas prices.

Watkins added that the energy secretary during the meeting set a collaborative tone early on by acknowledging the transition to clean energy is contributing to the current state of the oil market.

"I think the Secretary set a collaborative tone early on by acknowledging the global nature of oil markets and prices, and that some companies, including Shell, have diminished refining capacity because we’re busy converting century-old assets to produce biofuels," Watkins said.

Granholm said in a statement after the meeting that the talks were productive in dissecting the current global problems of supply and refining, including increasing domestic refining capacity and the need to reinvest into current and future technologies.

The Biden administration and the major oil companies will continue dialogue to collaborate on alleviating the current supply and price challenges and to strengthen the United States' energy security for the long haul, she added.

In this Friday, May 20, 2021, photo, a fuel truck driver checks the gasoline tank level at a United Oil gas station in Sunset Blvd., in Los Angeles.

© AP Photo / Damian Dovarganes

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said in a statement that the meeting was a constructive conversation about addressing near-term issues and longer-term stability of energy markets, and they are optimistic about the ability of the Biden administration to work with oil companies to achieve shared objectives.

US President Joe Biden during a press conference on Wednesday admitted that the West's anti-Russia response to its special military operation in Ukraine has contributed to the increase in energy prices around the world. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States is $4.94 as of Thursday afternoon, according to the American Automobile Association.