An oil well in North Dakota. Republican politicians are criticising President Joe Biden over his domestic energy policies and urging his administration to do more to ramp up domestic production.Credit:AP
Russia’s oil and gas industry is a top source of the nation’s wealth,prompting calls for the West to boycott it in the hope that it will more dramatically force Putin’s hand than the economic measures announced so far. The US is considering going it alone.
The issue was discussed during a secure video conference call President Joe Biden held on Monday morning (Tuesday AEST) with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson,French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Over the weekend,senior US officials also travelled to Venezuela - Putin’s top ally in Latin America - to ease longstanding hostilities with President Nicolas Maduro’s government,whose country is a top oil exporter. As such,Venezuela’s re-entry into the US energy market could assist in mitigating the potential fallout of a possible oil embargo on Russia.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that while a final decision on an oil ban had yet to be made,“active discussions” were taking place internally,“and also with our counterparts and partners in Europe and around the world”.
Prepared to block Russian oil:US President Joe Biden.Credit:Bloomberg
Rising fuel costs will likely further drive up inflation,which has risen rapidly over the past year,creating a key worry for the voters Biden needs for the Democrats to win in the mid-term elections in November.
Earlier,Johnson had warned oil and gas production may have to increase in the short term to allow European nations to wean themselves off Russian energy supplies.