A tense relationship between the Biden administration and the oil industry is clouding the prospects for a unified response to the growing threat of energy shortages and surging gasoline prices in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine.
President Biden stoked the tensions on Tuesday while announcing a U.S. ban on Russian oil imports, designed to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and bombing civilians. In a televised address, Mr. Biden asked the nation to brace for higher gas prices, which hit a national average of $4.252 a gallon on Wednesday.
Mr. Biden then looked at the camera and issued a stern warning to the oil industry: “Russia’s aggression is costing us all,” the president said, “and it’s no time for profiteering or price gouging.”
In Houston, where oil-and-gas companies were gathered for an annual conference, Mr. Biden’s scolding the industry on…
