Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Prices have risen to record highs in recent years
Former US Vice President Joe Biden is reviving his calls for the US to tap into its oil reserves to reduce surging gas prices.
He said shale gas production has “decimated” domestic supplies and called for the use of the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
American gas prices hit an all-time high in August, according to the American Automobile Association.
The price rise was due to rising imports, declining domestic supplies and higher infrastructure costs, Mr Biden said.
In the energy section of his new book Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship and Purpose, he wrote: “The days when the President could go on a photo-op and send an executive order to open up new energy areas, drill more on public lands, cut energy regulations, and force energy companies to meet renewable fuel standards are over.”
I agree that the days when the President could go on a photo-op and send an executive order to open up new energy areas, drill more on public lands, cut energy regulations, and force energy companies to meet renewable fuel standards are over. Former US Vice President Joe Biden
Mr Biden highlighted the fact that prices at the pump have risen as “energy production accelerates and when new products go to market, prices quickly adjust”.
Prices fell through 2011 but then “went nowhere and hit an all-time high in August”, he said.
Current US President Donald Trump responded, accusing Mr Biden of engaging in “political posturing” in the final days of the Democratic primary campaign in 2016, when he was vying with Hilary Clinton for the party’s nomination.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Biden wrote in his book that working with former BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, the late Mark Foley, author Jeff Flake and others was a “miraculous experience”
In a statement, Ms Clinton’s campaign spokesman accused Mr Biden of “voting for huge tax breaks for big oil companies and against saving jobs in coal country”.
Mr Biden also took aim at oil giant ExxonMobil for its proposal to replace the $20 billion (£15.8bn) in profits it made in 2008 with loans, which he said he didn’t “trust them to repay”, while adding that “they’re literally $11 trillion in debt”.
His message for consumers: “It’s time we get serious about energy and energy security.”
Mr Biden spoke about the issue of energy while visiting a refinery in north-east Ohio on Friday, the day before the US Labor Day holiday weekend.
He met with workers, including a Livermore Energy Systems supervisor in the refinery’s oil drilling division, and said he was focused on finding new ways to reduce US oil consumption.
“If I thought there was a viable strategy to capture and use America’s own energy, I’d do it,” he said.
Mr Biden wrote in his book that working with former BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward, the late Mark Foley, author Jeff Flake and others was a “miraculous experience” that became a “clear glimpse into the face of America”.
The former vice president has called for the US to double its production of clean-burning hydrogen fuel in response to his national tour promoting the book.
While saying his “heart was with Obama’s effort”, he said that his “mind was somewhere else”, saying that the then-president was pursuing a “10-year presidency” that would ultimately ignore the little problems that faced many American families.