Oil drilling exec rips 'show trial' on Capitol Hill, rejects 'ridiculous' gouging accusations from Democrats
Oil executive says Democrats' are 'finger pointing' to distract from failed policies
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Canary CEO Dan Eberhart ripped House Democrats' "show trial" on Wednesday after lawmakers grilled oil executives on Capitol Hill in an attempt to blame them for sky-high gas prices.
"I think it’s a big show trial," Eberhart, whose company provides drilling and production services, told "America Reports" host Sandra Smith.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Look, if the administration wanted to get serious about being a tailwind and a help increasing the supply to get the price down, I think they would be meeting with the oil company CEOs and focussing how we can increase production together with policy," he said."Instead, I think it’s a show trial where they are pointing fingers and trying to grandstand to make points. They didn’t even want to let the guys finish the answers."
FILE - Gas prices are seen in front of a billboard. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Eberhart and other oil executives have accused the White House of stifling production amid a slew of red tape, a renewable energy push, and the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The White House has pushed back on that narrative, accusing oil companies of price-gouging and not utilizing oil and gas leases to run up the profits.
"I think that’s ridiculous," Eberhart said. "The people that I know in the oil fields, the people that I know in the oil fields service company work hard every day, they make a little bit of money, but we don’t make a lot of money by any stretch."
President Biden announced last month the U.S. would no longer import Russian energy, and as a result, has been billing high gas prices as the "Putin Price Hike." But Eberhart said "everyone knows" that gas prices were soaring well before Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The White House accused oil companies of price gouging and not utilizing oil and gas leases to run up the profits. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
"Everyone knows the price of gas was going up the [during] entire Biden administration, not just since Putin has started waging this war. And the policies have a chilling effect," he said.
During the Trump administration, Eberhart said up to 13 million barrels of oil were produced a day.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Now, with the better economy, with a higher oil price and more demand, we're producing 11.6 million barrels a day. The industry wants to produce more, [but] the policies have a chilling effect, and it’s showing," he argued.