Biden, OPEC, and the Ukraine War: Who's to Blame for Rising Energy Costs?

Energy, the lifeblood of an industrialized economy, is growing increasingly precarious as of late. Geopolitical ploys, environmentalist movements, and a global financial crisis have upended the global energy order, and this shift is being felt from Ukraine to Utah. Facing a production cut from OPEC+, rising inflation, and a string of toss-up midterm elections next month, President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday an additional 15 million barrels of oil would be sold from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an effort to bring down prices. This decision sparked a fresh round of debate on energy, ethics, environmentalism, and economics.

Key Quotes: In a piece for MarketWatch (Center Bias), Karen E. Young called the U.S. “an advocate of market manipulation” based on Biden’s request that OPEC+ delay the production cut and the price cap on Russian energy. The Associated Press explained the political significance of the SPR, stating that “tapping the reserve is among the few things a president can do alone to try to control inflation.” For the Washington Examiner (Lean Right Bias), Byron York labeled Democratic lawmakers “shortsighted” for blocking a Trump Administration move that would have filled the SPR to maximum capacity when the price of oil was $24 per barrel in 2020. The price currently sits around $90 per barrel.

For Context: Oil is sold on a global market, meaning removing a large supplier from that market, such as Russia, allows other producers to raise prices due to higher demand.