The United States has increased heavy crude oil imports, with May volumes reaching its highest in two years, according to customs data quoted by Reuters.
Rising imports are in the midst of rising fuel demand during the driving season, and President Biden is urging refineries to increase gasoline and diesel production as pump prices continue to rise steadily. stop.
“We have healthy demand, low product inventories and a tight refining capacity,” Corey Stewart, a senior energy analyst at Refinitiv, told Reuters. “Refineries seek to bring raw materials to the U.S. to more economically meet the demands of the markets,” he added.
President Biden recently criticized refineries for making profits while driving a heavier load on the gas bill and urging them to produce more fuel. “In times of war, the much higher-than-normal profit margins of refineries that are passed on directly to American families are not acceptable,” the president wrote in a letter to the country’s largest refineries.
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president was also willing to use the Defense Production Act to increase the supply of gasoline and diesel to the domestic market.
“The president has already shown his willingness to use these emergency powers to reduce costs for families,” Jean-Pierre said, adding. “We’re saying the president has used it before and is willing to do it again.”
In addition to invoking the Defense Production Act, the Biden administration is also considering putting limits on fuel exports in order to put a cap on domestic fuel prices.
U.S. refineries imported 33.5 million barrels of heavy crude last month, Reuters reported, noting that heavy crude, while cheaper than local light varieties, also had higher yields. fuel. Refining margins have reached a record high of more than $ 62.50 per barrel.
From Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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