Our nation is once again in a perpetual state of energy dependence. Twice now, the president of the United States has pleaded with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to come to the rescue of the American economy, and twice he has been snubbed.
The most recent instance only confirms what everyone has known for nearly two years — the emperor has no clothes.
This week OPEC and its plus one Russia (OPEC+) announced they would curb production by 2 million barrels per day. This happened despite the Biden administration’s quid pro quo scheme to purchase OPEC barrels to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in exchange for a guarantee to not lower production. According to Goldman Sachs, we are likely to see oil prices return to $110 per barrel, and gasoline prices will likely return to $5-$6 a gallon nationally.
