Overnight Energy & Environment — Biden takes aim at Russian oil, gas and coal

by Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk - 03/08/22 6:14 PM ET

Welcome to Tuesday’s Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. Subscribe here: digital-staging.thehill.com/newsletter-signup.

Today we’re looking at the Biden administration’s ban on Russian oil and other energy imports, and President Biden’s acknowledgement that prices at the pump will “go up further” for U.S. drivers.

For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Write to us with tips: rfrazin@digital-staging.thehill.com and zbudryk@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @RachelFrazin and @BudrykZack.

Let’s jump in.

Biden warns of Russia energy ban’s impact

President Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. will ban Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports as part of his administration’s response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The United States is targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy. We’re banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy,” Biden said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room.

“That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another blow to Putin’s war machine,” he added.

Biden signed an executive order banning Russian energy imports as well as new U.S. investment in Russia’s energy sector, the White House said in a fact sheet. The order will also prohibit Americans from “financing or enabling” foreign companies investing in Russian energy production, the White House said.

OK, but let’s talk energy prices: The White House had been reticent to ban the imports as gas prices have soared, but there have been growing calls from members of both parties to ban Russian oil as punishment for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Biden, in his remarks on Tuesday, noted that the effort would likely increase costs in the U.S., saying prices will “go up further.”

“This is a step that we’re taking to inflict further pain on Putin, but there will be costs as well here in the United States,” he said, noting that he would take steps to minimize the impact.

He reiterated previous remarks that such actions were part of the cost of defending freedom.

“I said I would level with the American people from the beginning, and when I first spoke to this I said defending freedom’s going to … cost us as well,” he said.

“Republicans and Democrats alike understand that. Republicans and Democrats alike have been clear that we must do this,” Biden added.

The mechanics: A senior administration official told reporters that the ban on new purchases of Russian energy would take effect immediately, but there will be a 45 day “wind down” period under which purchases that have already been made can be delivered.

AND WHAT’S HAPPENING IN EUROPE?

The European Union is eyeing a plan to cut its reliance on Russian natural gas by two-thirds this year, and get off Russian fossil fuels entirely by the end of the decade.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said in a statement the effort to move away from Russian natural gas was in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The plan laid out several steps that it said would cut its dependence on Russia’s natural gas, including working with international partners to diversify its natural gas supply, speeding up permitting for renewable energy projects and adding solar panels and energy-efficient improvements to homes and buildings.

It would also double its 2030 goal of producing gas through agricultural waste and create an accelerator for hydrogen energy.

“We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas. We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

The United Kingdom also said it would work to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

And, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky applauded Biden for “striking in the heart of Putin’s war machine and banning oil, gas and coal from U.S. market” and urged other countries to follow suit.

BIDEN GOES ON DEFENSE

President Biden on Tuesday pushed back against criticism from Republicans that his energy policies are to blame for soaring gas prices during an announcement that the U.S. would no longer allow imports of Russian oil.

In his remarks on Russian oil imports, Biden argued that his administration’s policies are not limiting domestic energy production, insisting the U.S. needs to invest in clean energy so Americans are not at the mercy of gas prices.

“It’s simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production. That’s simply not true,” Biden said. “Even amid the pandemic, companies in the U.S. pumped more oil during my first year in office than they did during my predecessor’s first year.”

White House officials have used the comparison of Biden’s first year in office to the Trump administration’s first year in office to argue they have not capped oil production, though production was higher in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Biden also noted that 90 percent of onshore oil production in the United States happens on land not owned by the federal government, and he pointed to thousands of acres that oil and gas companies have leased for drilling they are not using.

One nominee held up, others advance

Laura Daniel-Davis to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior is seem at her nomination hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.

Senate Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) delayed the nomination of a key Biden Interior Department nominee after holding a rare second hearing for her, citing the ongoing energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Manchin spokesperson Sam Runyon confirmed to The Hill Tuesday that Laura Daniel-Davis, President Biden’s pick to be assistant Interior secretary for land and minerals management, would not be among a raft of nominees the committee would vote on Tuesday.

“As we continue to watch energy being used as a weapon of war by Vladimir Putin, the need for increased American energy production is clear to ensure domestic supplies and help our allies,” Runyon said in a statement to The Hill.

“Ms. Daniel-Davis has been nominated to serve in a role that would oversee the federal leasing programs, and Senator Manchin would like to see more from the Department that it intends to get back to the business of leasing and production on federal lands and waters in a robust and responsible way.”

The committee previously deadlocked in a party-line vote on Daniel-Davis in 2021, and at the time, Manchin voted for her.

Read more here.

IN OTHER NOMINEE NEWS

President Biden on Tuesday formally nominated Joseph Goffman to lead the EPA’s air office, a role he has informally held since the start of the administration. Goffman formerly worked in the Obama administration and is expected to face opposition from Republicans.

Biden also nominated Evelyn Wang to lead the Advanced Research Project Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) and David Applegate to lead the U.S. Geological Survey.

And the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced the nominations of Shalanda Baker to direct the Energy Department’s (DOE’s) Office of Minority Economic Impact, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe to lead DOE’s Office of Science and Joseph DeCarolis to lead the Energy Information Administration.