Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm urged major American oil refiners to increase capacity and decrease exports of refined goods ahead of the winter, per The Hill.
Granholm stated in the letter she wrote last week that fuel stocks on the East Coast are now almost 50% lower than they were five years ago. Exports of refined goods are at an all-time high.
Demand in the northeast is set to increase due to an anticipated above-average hurricane season that will be followed soon by the winter heating season.
“Given the historic level of U.S. refined product exports, I again urge you to focus in the near term on building inventories in the United States, rather than selling down current stocks and further increasing exports,” Granholm wrote.
The Wall Street Journal was the first publication to cover the letter. In a Wednesday editorial, the publication accused the energy secretary of trying to bully the energy sector and forsaking European countries weaning themselves off of Russian supplies.
An official of the Energy Department said “as we get closer and closer to peak hurricane season right now, and we’re running our internal models, we are calling on [the industry] to be more proactive.”
“We understand that they do have plans in place for their refineries and getting them back up and running,” the official added, “but we also want them as they’re increasing their exports to also look at the bigger picture … and making sure they’re making the right decisions to ensure there’s physical supply for American consumers and our allies.”
The official highlighted a further letter from the six governors of New England to Granholm demanding action before the winter.
The governors requested that the government work to update New England’s energy resources and take into account suspending the Jones Act, which limits the region’s access to liquefied natural gas shipped from the United States.
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