My point is that the rise we have seen in gasoline prices in the two months he has been in office has absolutely nothing to do with Biden’s policies. We know why prices are rising. The price of oil has surged. We know why that has happened.
Some people asserted that cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline permit had definitely caused gasoline prices to rise. Setting aside the fact that gasoline prices were rising well ahead of this announcement, I challenged people to explain cause and effect in this situation. Given all the global variables impacting oil prices — some of which are large and immediate — I asked for people to explain how canceling this project would cause a short-term impact on gasoline prices. Nobody was able to do this.
The Keystone XL pipeline project wouldn’t have been completed for years. It would have transported some crude oil from Canada and from the Bakken formation in the U.S. to refineries. Some crude oil from the pipeline may have reached the U.S. Gulf Coast for export.
For the record, I opposed cancellation of the permit. I explained the reasons in The Inherent Risks In President Biden’s Energy Plan. But my opposition aside, this does nothing to increase gasoline prices in the short-term.
True, a decade from now there might have been an additional 510,000 BPD of oil flowing to refineries through the Keystone XL. But OPEC regularly makes decisions on millions of BPD of oil with immediate consequences. Those have short-term impacts on oil prices, and subsequently gasoline prices. The loss of the Keystone XL volume may impact gasoline prices a decade from now.
