White House officials discuss Hurricane Ian, gasoline inventories

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White House officials discuss Hurricane Ian, gasoline inventories

WASHINGTON D.C. After President Joe Biden warned the oil industry against price-gouging, White House officials and oil executives met late last week to discuss Hurricane Ian and gasoline inventories.

The White House requested a meeting with eight oil companies, including Marathon Petroleum, Chevron and Exxon Mobil.

Retail gasoline prices have gone up quickly due to tight supplies, planned maintenance and unplanned outages at refineries.

The American Automobile Association said the average retail gasoline price is 11 cents higher than last week, at $3.79 per gallon, but overall prices are lower than last month.

In public comments, Biden warned oil companies not to use Hurricane Ian as a pretext to raise gasoline prices, which have surged since the beginning of the year due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Biden said that this small, temporary storm impact on oil production provides no excuse for price increases at the pump.

Hurricane Fiona took a heavy toll on Puerto Rico earlier this month, while Hurricane Ian destroyed Florida and later battered South Carolina.

The meeting was scheduled to include National Economic Council director Brian Deese, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Amos Hochstein, senior energy adviser at the State Department.

Exxon and Chevron didn't say anything about the White House meeting, though in a separate statement, Chevron said it had zero tolerance for unlawful price gouging.