Dem Senator Joe Manchin recently urged President Joe Biden to restore the Keystone XL Pipeline after the administration released 50,000,000 barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Manchin released a statement saying that he continues to urge President Biden to increase energy production at home and reverse course to allow Keystone XL to be built. Manchin stated that the pipeline would have provided “up to 900,000.00 barrels of oil per daily from Canada, one our closest allies.”
Manchin explained that the issue was about American energy independence. He also said that Americans shouldn’t depend on foreign actors like OPEC+ for their energy security. Instead, they should focus on the real problems facing the country’s future. Biden had earlier asked for more oil production, and he was referring to the 13-nation oil cartel.
When asked by a reporter to give an estimate of America’s daily oil consumption, Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s energy secretary, who oversees the United States energy supply, did not know the number of barrels that the United States consumes each day.
Manchin stated that releasing oil from the reserves is only a “Band-Aid” and does not address the “self-inflicted wound” that shortsighted energy policies are having on the nation. Washington must not compromise America’s energy security and make consumers more vulnerable to rising prices, as there is an energy transition taking place across the country.
Manchin was reported to have joined GOP members to urge the president to reconsider canceling the permit for the pipeline. He claimed that pipelines “continued to be the safest way to transport our oil resources and they support thousands of high-paying union jobs in America.” However, gas prices have risen seven years in a row, and Americans are still struggling to pay the pump. Biden has not yet found a permanent solution.
It was reported that Biden began his presidency by canceling the Keystone Pipeline. He halted energy exploration on federal land and ended America’s energy independence which was achieved under former President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration has openly stated that it won’t increase domestic oil production in order to lower gas prices in America and instead has pleaded with OPEC for more production abroad.”
Despite canceling the Keystone pipeline permits, Biden lifted Trump-era Russia sanctions to allow the construction of Nord Stream 2 to Germany to be streamlined.
