Howling about the US Importing Russian Oil? Here Ya’ Go…
Besides blaming Biden for the rise in gasoline prices (which is false), right wing media is now howling about how the US has increased its imports of Russian oil in recent years. We have indeed increased our imports of Russian oil, but most of it is actually not crude oil, but unfinished component products for making gasoline and diesel. Why? Interesting you should ask – imports of Russian oil and products increased when Venezuelan crude and products were banned by a US president. Biden, you ask? Nope – TFG. In 2019. At the time strongman Nicolas Maduro had seized the presidency of Venezuela after the election, and TFG’s handlers saw an opportunity to connect Democrats with “leftists” in Venezuela, attracting votes from a growing population of Venezuelans in Florida, and banned imports of the country’s crude and products. All that accomplished was drive Maduro into the arms of Putin, AND forced US refiners to increase Russian imports to replace the lost Venezuelan product and keep supply of motor fuels flowing into US markets.
Since the war in Ukraine started, the Noise Machine has been howling about how Biden is responsible for rising prices and “increasing dependence” on Russian crude, which is all bullshit. Even at it’s peak, Russian product has only made up about 4% to 8% of total imports into the US, and only about 2% of US consumption. This is all a tempest in a teapot trying to blame the Biden administration for the price and demand crunches that exist through no direct actions of Biden, or any other president, for that matter.
The global energy markets are made up of millions of players in every energy consuming state. The US government does not control US production which is controlled by private companies navigating shifting sands of economies, investors, and consumers. Today, the Washington Post published a really good explainer of how gasoline prices are determined and worth the time of anyone not familiar with how the oil and gas industry actually works.
The oil producers, petroleum refining industry and big gas retailers control not only the supply but the price speculation. This in great part results in the pump prices jumping now. This speculation has led to profits also skyrocketing. Buy low(er) and sell much high. That’s ok- just ask fux news.
https://www.rawstory.com/jeanine-pirro/
A lot of things have contributed including the impact of the Covid pandemic which could have been controlled much earlier had it not been for the actions (make that inactions) of TFFG’s administration. We continue to pay for that at the pumps and everything else.
1@steve No. Please read the Washington Post story I linked to. I don’t want to have to turn this car around.
2El Jefe, Not going to argue with the story you linked to, so don’t turn the car around. The cost of gas TO the pump and the retail we pay is complicated. Retailers post their prices so there’s no secrets. They watch each other constantly. I can tell you from experience, that companies that refine (but don’t drill) and then retail gasoline, buy what they refine at a contracted cost for how ever many barrels they buy at that time. Right now, with retails increasing as they are, the in ground replacement cost is more than being offset by the increased retails. That’s partly why retails are fast to go up and then slow to come down when crude oil drops because retailers have more expensive gas in their storage tanks.
3I worked for 30+ years for 2 companies that both refined and retailed gasoline (both are Texas companies). Their staff organizations to buy oil as low as possible at the right quantity was very substantial. It’s complicated. No more comments from me on this topic.
@ Steve – You’re talking to someone who knows way more about this than you think. I know how it works, and it’s a market with millions of inputs. No one can control or manipulate prices for any period of time because the other players will correct for monetary reasons. It’s not monolithic in any sense.
4Yup. Ok, I lied. I commented again. Never was thinking you didn’t know a lot about it. It is very complicated. Now I’m done.
5El Jefe’s on the case.
My second comment here:
https://juanitajean.com/vigilanteism-now-the-law-of-the-land/#comments
touched on one of my fruitless ventures in trying to reach ‘those people’.
I gave up. Rationality, reason, facts, reality, truth, etc., are incomprehensible to the RWNJ MAGAot group, and many other ‘just folks’; IOW, brain?washed cretins.
Some factual links:
https://www.eia.gov/international/overview/world?topL=exp
https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/RUS
And a good Russian oil export graph [2020, 1% went to the US]:
https://www.eia.gov/international/content/analysis/countries_long/Russia/images/crude_oil_condensate.png
The whole enchilada:
6U.S. Energy Information Administration, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585
https://www.eia.gov/
Thanks Jefe.
7I still say it’s mighty intrestin that only Democrat Presidents seem to have omnipotent fuel price control.
Funny how that works.
At least in the echo chamber.
OT, but involving South Texas oil and gas country.
And $2 BILLION yearly of our tax dollars for Guv Abbott’s Operation Lone Star boondoggle.
This was my territory [I’m just a few miles north now], I drove past and through these places countless times, through the Sarita and Falfurrias checkpoints thousands of times; US Hwys 77 and 281, SH 285, 107, 186, 141, et al.
They wrote “the city of Sarita” below. That’s so effing funny! If you’re ever been there:
Sarita, TX, pop 238…
Kenedy County TX, pop 350, area 1946sqmi.
Yeah, –Three Hundred Fifty people–, in a county FIFTY PERCENT 50% bigger than the entire State of Rhode Island, pop 1 Million+.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarita,_Texas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenedy_County,_Texas
One of the King Ranch scions, Jay Kleberg, is actually running for state office, Land Commissioner, as a Democrat.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/16/texas-national-guard-king-ranch/
“Earlier this year, about 30 Texas National Guard members were ordered to stand watch outside some of the wealthiest private ranches in South Texas, more than an hour’s drive away from the Mexico border, as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s highly touted mission to curb illegal immigration.
Placed at spots along U.S. Route 77 running north to Corpus Christi — including the sprawling and renowned King Ranch and the GOP-connected Armstrong Ranch
8**[remember Dickus Cheney plugging his hunting buddy?]**
— the troops were ostensibly meant to deter migrants and smugglers who might cross through private ranches to avoid detection at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near the city of Sarita. …”