Don't look now, but just in time for the spring and summer driving season, oil and gas prices are on the rise again. Crude oil is now at its highest level of the year, surpassing $85 a barrel. In fact, the price of oil has gone up so much, the White House abruptly canceled plans to buy back millions of barrels to refill the depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). As for gas prices, the average for regular unleaded is now $3.17 per gallon in Texas, and $3.57 nationwide, both slightly higher than a year ago.
Karr Ingham, economist with the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, says it's no surprise that gas prices are following the rise in crude prices. "We can always hope we're wrong about this, but it wouldn't surprise me to see gasoline prices going up further from where they are now heading into summer, and they've already gone up some," he tells KTRH.
The rise in crude oil comes amidst continued geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, OPEC production cuts, and increased demand. "There is growing demand globally for crude oil and petroleum products that come from it," says Ingham. "We know this, and we need to respond to that."
How exactly to respond is the question facing the Biden administration. Leading up to the 2022 election, Biden drained hundreds of millions of barrels from the SPR in an attempt to keep pump prices down. With this year's election just months away, Biden could face pressure to at least temporarily ease some restrictions to move prices lower. "It was foolhardy for (Biden) to drain the reserves in 2022, but it would be even worse to try that now," says Ingham. "I don't know what he can do, other than what he should have been doing all along, and that is simply turning oil and gas companies in Texas loose to do what they do best."
In other words, the solution to higher oil and gas prices is right under our noses. "Just as has been the case for the last several years, the U.S. has been---led by Texas---responsible for crude oil supply growth here and around the globe, and we can continue to do that," says Ingham.
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