US Energy Chief to Talk with Refiners About Boosting Output
Energy Secretary Chris Wright'said he will talk to U.S. refining companies on Monday to discuss 'ways to boost a fuel production to lower gasoline prices which remain stubbornly high after the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.
Fuel prices are high, and refineries in the United States are already operating at high speeds.
Wright told reporters that "the United States refineries?run at record highs, but there are refineries in the Middle East which?are shut down." Wright told reporters that he would be meeting with American refiners later today to discuss what the government can do to help them?increase their throughput.
Wright, speaking at the Exxon Mobil oil-rig site in Midland, Texas, said that increasing refinery production in the U.S. as well as elsewhere is the key to lower gasoline prices.
High gas prices pose a risk to President Donald Trump's political future, as he prepares for the midterm elections in November. His fellow Republicans will be trying to "retain" control of both chambers.
According to the AAA motorist group, the average U.S. gasoline price is over $4.06 per?gallon. This represents an increase of more than $1 since a year ago.
Trump said at a New York political rally on Friday that it was worth paying "a little bit more" for gasoline to prevent "a very evil nation" from obtaining a nuclear weapons, which is one of the reasons he cited for the war.
Wright claimed that Trump was asking Americans to?bear with him' because the world could not afford Iran possessing a nuclear bomb. Sheila Dang and Timothy Gardner in Midland contributed to the reporting. Mark Potter edited the article.
(source: Reuters)
