Biden blasts oil companies over gasoline prices: Update

Biden blasts oil companies over gasoline prices: Update

Updates with details throughout, industry comments.

Washington, 17 November (Argus) — US president Joe Biden today criticized oil and gas companies for reaping "significant profits off higher energy prices" as he again asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate if there is any price manipulation in gasoline markets.

"The two largest oil and gas companies in the US, as measured by market capitalization, are on track to nearly double their net income over 2019, the last full year before the pandemic" and are spending the profits on stock buybacks and dividends, Biden wrote in a letter to FTC chairman Lina Khan. "I do not accept hard-working Americans paying more for gas because of anti-competitive or otherwise potentially illegal conduct."