Oil industry CEO calls price-gouging accusations from Democrats 'ridiculous'
Canary CEO Dan Eberhart reacts to the 'show trial' between Democrats and top energy executives on Capitol Hill on 'America Reports.'
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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"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.
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.
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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"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.
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