▲ A U.S. gas station sign
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with executives from the domestic refining and fuel distribution industries, CNBC and AFP reported on the 31st of last month, local time.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at the White House, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright in attendance.
The gathering includes major oil companies often referred to as "oil majors," as well as small and medium-sized refiners and fuel distributors.
At the core of the agenda are soaring consumer gasoline prices that show no signs of stopping amid the prolonged war with Iran.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average retail diesel price has surged by 57% so far this year, Bloomberg reported.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said, "President Trump is committed to ensuring that his successful energy dominance agenda translates into the maximum possible cost savings for consumers at the pump."
Rogers added, "President Trump will discuss ways to explore the best options together to expand refining capacity, further project U.S. energy dominance across the entire supply chain, and lower prices for the American people."
President Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration that U.S. refiners are making massive profits from surging international oil prices while retail gasoline prices at the pump remain high.
On the 3rd, he singled out major oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil, urging, "They are making too much money in a situation of supply shortages. I don't like it. They have to give some of that profit back to the people."
Given that not just refiners but also distribution industry executives have been summoned to this meeting, it is expected that he will repeatedly pressure them for a dramatic reduction in gas prices, which have become a major political liability for President Trump ahead of the midterm elections.
In a Reuters-Ipsos poll released earlier this month, about half of the respondents cited the burden of living costs as the most important issue in the midterm elections.
The disapproval rating regarding President Trump's handling of the cost-of-living issue reached about 70%.
It is also noteworthy that this meeting with the refining industry comes after President Trump announced on the 28th that he had secured "majority control" over Venezuela's 65 billion barrels of oil reserves.
AFP noted that President Trump expects the global crude supply disruptions caused by the war with Iran to be offset by increased supplies from Venezuela.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the waiver volume for renewable fuel blending obligations for refiners at 1.76 billion credits annually.
This is nearly double the 990 million credits originally proposed by the EPA.
The renewable fuel blending obligation requires gasoline and diesel to be mixed with a certain amount of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Reuters reported that significantly expanding exemptions from this requirement has the effect of reducing fuel production costs.
Reuters interpreted this as a measure reflecting the White House's "broad efforts" to stabilize gas prices, even while risking backlash from farmers who grow corn and soybeans, the main raw materials for biofuels.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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