Gas prices have peaked in the United States, reaching over $4 for the first time since 2008.. The prices are at an all-time high as Russia continues to invade Ukraine and the U.S maintains its sanction against any and all Russian energy sources. 

 The sanction began on March 8, 2022, when President Joe Biden signed an executive order that banned the import of Russian oil, liquified natural gas, and coal to the United States in hopes of depriving Putin of economic resources and monetary support.

 “We made this decision in close consultation with our Allies and our partners around the world,” Biden said at a press conference discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “A united response to Putin’s aggression has been my overriding focus, to keep all NATO and all of the EU and our allies totally united.”

 Although the U.S does not use a particularly large amount of Russian gas, according to CNN Europe received 60% of the oil and 20% went to China in 2021, The sanction will affect all nations globally because gas is priced based on the global commodity market. 

“There will be costs as well here in the United States,” Biden said. “ I said I would level with the American people from the beginning.  And when I first spoke to this, I said defending freedom is going to cost — it’s going to cost us as well, in the United States.”

 So far, the Biden administration hasn’t made any changes to its sanction against Russian imports. Because of this, many Americans have begun looking to local drilling companies to supply their needs. Robert McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group says drilling companies are under heavy pressure to mass-produce oil domestically, however, they are struggling to find employees and are also unable to find the machinery needed to drill the oil. 

Despite this, many oil companies are reporting record highs from the first quarter of 2022. Shell has quoted that its earnings have risen from $3.2 billion in 2021 to about $9.1 billion during its first quarter. At the end of April, Exxon Mobil announced that they had nearly doubled their profits during their first quarter in comparison to last year.

With prices seemingly never going down, inflation has caused many Americans to worry about whether or not they’ll be able to sustain themselves in an increasingly expensive economy.