Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm contends that America still has the cheapest gas in the world despite recent rising prices at the pump.
"Relative-wise, we have the cheapest gasoline prices in the world," Hamm recently told CNBC.
By early Tuesday, the national average fell to $2.91, AAA reported.
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline has spiked 7 cents a gallon over the past two weeks, costing $2.97, the Associated Press reported. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says that's 41 cents a gallon higher than at this time last year. Lundberg said Sunday that rising crude oil prices are the main reason for the increase at the pump.
The highest average price in the contiguous 48 states is $3.82 a gallon in Los Angeles. The lowest average is $2.58 in Houston.
Hamm also isn't worried about China’s smaller-than-threatened tariff on U.S. natural gas amid the ongoing trade war.
China last month imposed a 10 percent tariff on American goods, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), starting Sept. 24 in retaliation for a similar-sized levy imposed by the U.S., Bloomberg reported.
While China’s levy is less than the 25 percent it had threatened, the tariff still brings additional pressure to bear on the U.S. gas industry, which is competing with Russia, Australia and Qatar for market share in China, the world’s biggest buyer. Just last year, American officials were courting Chinese companies to invest in new export projects.
"China has been an important market. I don't want to down play that at all but they only represent about 4% of the entire amount of LNG exports. So it is relatively small. This year that amounts to about 9 BCF (billion cubic feet of gas)," he said.
"So it is a pretty small number, relative-wise. But even with the tariff on there, it is still probably the best deal I have," he said.
Meanwhile, Hamm said it's time to bring the energy narrative back to the U.S. and swing the focus away from OPEC and other nations.
'We're bringing on about a million barrels per year additional supply in this country. So we've had tremendous growth since 2008 until now that all that growth in the whole market, basically 65% of it has been generated right here in the U.S. So that is what is keeping it in a stable situation," he said, citing the gas prices.
He also predicted that if OPEC cuts production, the U.S. will be there to pick up the slack.
"We have stepped up and that is what is going on, it is all about warzone drilling and the American energy renaissance and what that has done to change the entire world," he said.
"It’s a great thing that has occurred and the U.S. needs to take full credit for it. We need to bring the narrative back to the U.S. And not be talking all about OPEC it is about offsetting this new demand with American supply and that's what we're doing."
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