As President Biden travels to Saudi Arabia this week to demand increased energy production from the Middle Eastern nation, U.S. energy industry representatives say Biden should look to the state. “We think Texas is much closer than Saudi Arabia,” American Exploration and Production Council CEO Anne Bradbury told Fox News Digital. “And President Biden doesn’t have to travel halfway around the world looking for solutions to this energy crisis when a solution is found. he’s here at home” “If the administration is serious about increasing supply, it should meet with producers here at home instead of looking to governments abroad,” said American Petroleum Institute spokeswoman Christina Noel. President Joe Biden is traveling to Saudi Arabia this week to urge the country to produce more oil amid high U.S. gas prices (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom) Biden’s trip to the Middle East includes visits to several countries, including Israel. The White House says the president will address a number of geopolitical issues while there. STICK INFLATION FORCES SHOPPERS TO WORK OVERTIME AND CHANGE DIETS AS PRICES RISE But with high gas prices and high inflation, his Friday visit to Saudi Arabia and energy diplomacy in the Oil Kingdom will be the most cautious part of the trip. This is especially true amid criticism of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, including its treatment of homosexuals and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. “We will have the opportunity, within this very broad agenda, to talk about energy security with the leaders of OPEC countries in the Middle East, as we discussed energy security when he was on his trips to Europe and the Indo-Pacific” , National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday. “Human rights — it’s a strategic interest of the United States. So is energy security, so is countering terrorism, so is seeking peace in a place like Yemen,” Sullivan also said. President Biden is set to meet with Saudi King Salman during his visit to the thieving Oil Kingdom this week. (Saudi Press Agency via AP / AP Newsroom) INFLATION RAISES 9.1% IN JUNE, ACCELERATES MORE THAN EXPECTED TO NEW 40-YEAR HIGH But Energy Workforce and Technology Council CEO Leslie Beyer told Fox News Digital Biden wouldn’t need to ask the Saudis for more oil if he simply changed his administration’s stance on domestic production. “First and foremost, defamation of the industry prevents us from accessing the capital that we need for our long-term investments in production. That’s really the primary area where they can really hinder production,” Beyer said. “It also hurts our ability to supply workers.” Beyer also criticized proposed regulations from the Securities and Exchange Commission and said the Interior Department’s five-year plan for oil lease sales is inadequate. “You can’t say on the one hand, ‘Industry, I need you to produce more,’ and on the other hand tie our hands,” he said. “The inconsistent and hostile messaging and policies we’ve seen from this administration has been a significant headwind,” Bradbury added. ENERGY INDUSTRY TURNS BACK AS ‘RED REGA’ PSAKI COMMENT ON OIL AND GAS LEASES The White House, meanwhile, maintained that domestic oil production has increased and said oil companies have plenty of room to produce more. “Under President Biden, U.S. oil production has increased and will soon reach a record high. In fact, the United States produced more oil in President Biden’s first year in office than in the first two years of the previous government and an additional 9,000 approved drilling permits remain unused by oil companies,” White House spokesman Abdullah Hassan told Fox News Digital. Hassan added: “President Biden is committed to doing everything he can to lower prices at the pump, and oil and gas companies should not use this moment as an excuse not to pass on their savings to consumers at the pump.” . The White House’s comment on oil and gas leases is one that industry representatives have previously taken issue with. Bradbury called it a “red herring,” while Beyer said “some licenses are viable and some aren’t,” which is why many sit unused. Biden also recently asked gas stations to lower their prices as oil prices fell from their recent highs. And the White House has accused oil producers of taking advantage of price increases during Russia’s war in Ukraine to cover their profits when their costs are not actually rising. The White House is demanding that the energy industry produce more. (Tyler Olson/FOX Business/FOXBusiness) But Beyer and Bradbury said comments like that show the White House doesn’t understand the reality of the energy economy. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS “The fundamental flaw in it is that it doesn’t recognize the economics and global markets of the industry,” Beyer said. “So it’s not the refiners, it’s not the oil producers that determine the price of oil or the price of natural gas. It’s the global market.” Bradbury added: “It shows a really fundamental misunderstanding of our industry. Our industry is a price taker, not a price setter. And, you know, I didn’t hear a lot of sympathy from these Democrats when, you know, prices went negative before from a year and a half”. The White House earlier this week did not specify any specific requirements Biden will have while in Saudi Arabia, where high temperatures are expected to top 110 degrees for the next two weeks, with lows in the 80s. However, he made it clear that Biden will demand more oil from the Saudis. “I’m not going to get into a specific characterization of what constitutes ‘enough.’ What I will say is that the President believes that the price of natural gas is too high and that we need to do more with respect to the global energy supply,” Sullivan said. “And he will take every step in his power, both here at home and in his diplomatic engagement around the world, to try to achieve that.”
