Oil exec warns Biden admin breaking the ‘backbone of the energy revolution’

EPA looks to impose ozone regulations on the Permian Basin, America’s largest oil shale

As the AAA national average for gas sits at $4.84 per gallon heading into the July 4th weekend, one American oil executive is begging the Biden administration to tap into the Permian Basin’s full potential.

"The Permian Basin is the most prolific in the United States," American Petroleum Institute Senior Vice President Frank Macchiarola told "Mornings with Maria" Friday. "It's really been the backbone of the energy revolution here."

Macchiarola expressed hope that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) plan to impose a discretionary re-designation of the Permian Basin, which is located in Texas and New Mexico and accounts for 40% of all oil produced in the U.S., falls through.

"What this administration should be actually doing is promoting more American oil and gas development," the oil executive told FOX Business' Dagen McDowell.

GAS PRICES SURGE TO $5 PER GALLON, REACHING ALL-TIME HIGH: AAA

President Biden in a photo illustration with gas pump and oil refinery

American Petroleum Institute's Frank Macchiarola says President Biden should promote more oil and gas development amid a "crisis" on "Mornings with Maria" July 1, 2022. (Fox News)

In response to Biden’s moratorium on federal land and offshore drilling, the American Petroleum Institute introduced a plan to promote and restore U.S. energy independence.

"That breaks down the barriers for infrastructure, that lifts the steel tariffs, that promotes LNG exports," Macchiarola explained. "These are the types of steps that the administration should be taking, not looking to put limitations on the most prolific basin that we have here in the United States."

Pumping 5.2 million barrels per day, or 95 million gallons of gas, the Permian Basin is credited with pushing the U.S. to become the leading producer of oil and natural gas, according to Macchiarola.

"But that didn't happen by accident," the oil executive pointed out, "and we need policies in place from this administration that continues that progress."

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Macchiarola remained unsure of how high gas prices will go and how costly travel could become.

"It's hard to project prices, but the fundamentals are what's critical here. We saw a demand increase coming out of COVID, and supplies have not kept pace," he noted. "What we really need is additional supplies into the marketplace. And we think that policies can help."

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FOX Business’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.