Gas prices are going up, North Texans to see additional increase after Biden’s ban on Russian oil, report
Texas – Gas prices rising trend in the last couple of weeks is expected to continue in the upcoming period especially after president Biden on Tuesday announced that the US shuts off buying gas, oil and other petroleum products from Russia, a decision with immediate effect.
Biden’s decision was approved from both the Democrats and the Republicans although everyone knows this decision will further increase the gas prices.
According to industry experts, Biden’s decision will cost Russia more than it would cost America.
“We import roughly 500,000 barrels a day from Russia, which is a relatively small part in terms of our overall consumption,” explained Bruce Bullock, director of the SMU Maguire Energy Institute. “But it is going to impact the price of oil. It’s already up $8 a barrel a day.”
US imports only 3% of the crude oil from Russia and that’s far below compared to Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Although the Russian oil ban is not expected to cause disruptions and shortage on the market, the ban will most probably further increase the gas prices.
While many expressed their disapproval with Biden’s ban on Russian oil and gas claiming that rising gas prices will additionally fuel the inflation, others approve the decision. One of them is North Texan Toby Moore who agrees to pay more at the pump if that is the cost of the ban:
“[Biden] should have done that a long time ago,” he said.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden was pushing for banning Russian oil and gas, but he was not supported by most of the European counties that are heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas.
“The fewer countries that sign on, the less impact it will have,” Bullock said. “However, it appears that the U.K. is gonna follow and some others with will probably just compound the price. So we’re probably in for another $10-$20 a barrel and maybe 25¢-50¢ at the pump.”
Meanwhile, gas prices are going up every single day increasing living costs for Americans.