TEXAS — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, gas prices here at home have been soaring. And now that President Biden has banned imports of Russian energy products, prices will likely go up higher.

What You Need To Know

  • President Biden has banned the import of Russian energy products as the invasion of Ukraine continues. It comes at a time when people in the U.S. are paying record gas prices and inflation remains high 

  • Republicans, particularly those representing Texas, argue the issue could be solved by increasing oil production in the U.S. 

  • However, critics argue, increasing production isn't a simple or quick process and that several steps would be required 

  • Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the U.S. is already producing record levels of natural gas. Others have suggested that now is the time to invest more heavily in renewable energy

“When you take that amount of oil off of the market, it makes a great deal of difference in price,” said Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University. “So that's the principal impact to the to the U.S. market. And we'll have to replace that.”  

But how to replace that Russian oil and gas is a major point of contention in Washington. Texas Republicans say it’s time to unleash production domestically, especially in their home state where oil and gas producers would probably see profits in the near term.

“The United States of America should not be energy dependent, we should be energy dominant,” said Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas. “We should not rely on our adversaries for our own energy needs. Enough is enough. We need President Biden to put Midland over Moscow.”

But increasing production isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. Experts say the U.S. produced a record amount of oil in 2019, but then production declined — not because of policies in Washington, but because the pandemic reduced demand. ​

Some Republicans have urged the administration to speed up permitting and boost capacity at liquefied natural gas terminals along the Gulf Coast. But current LNG facilities are operating at full tilt and expanding them can’t happen overnight. 

“This industry been in a downturn since the 2014-2015 time frame, and ramping up from that very quickly is difficult for it to do,” said Bullock. “Based upon investor sentiment, labor sentiment and costs, it's not something that you can turn a spigot on immediately, regardless of what incentives or disincentives may be out there.”

Republicans have also accused the Biden administration of holding back production by blocking pipelines over environmental concerns. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki pointed to the 9,000 permits unused, although it doesn’t also mean it’ll lead to production. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm attended an energy conference in Houston Wednesday and said the country’s already producing record levels of natural gas. 

“People are arguing that if a pipeline that wouldn't have even been in operation by now were still under construction, the situation with today's oil prices would be different or that President Biden's policies have decreased production,” said Granholm. “We all know that that is the same old DC BS."

For now consumers will have to pay higher prices as the administration weighs its long-term energy goals and the immediate demand for oil. And while the president's decision to ban Russian oil imports had bipartisan support, many Democrats say now is the time to invest more in clean energy. Many say that the U.S. must move away from fossil fuels both to gain energy independence and respond to the growing climate crisis.

Doug Lewin, president of Stoic Energy, said that ramping up gas production and investing more in renewable energy can go hand in hand.

“We do need to have more renewables,” said Lewin. “That seems counterintuitive, but the idea is that the more renewables you have, the less gas you use, the more gas you can send to your allies. So if here in Texas, we ramp up more wind and solar [energy], it frees up gas for us to export. It makes us richer, and it helps our allies abroad.”