The Energy Department sent an invitation to oil industry executives Wednesday night to meet next week to discuss high gas prices, an official familiar with the matter tells CNN.
The official said the invitation went out to the same seven oil companies that President Joe Biden wrote a letter to on Tuesday: Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66, Chevron, BP and Shell.
It’s not clear what the format of the meeting will be nor precisely when it will be held.
Representative for the oil industry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the letter on Tuesday, Biden called for oil companies to boost supply of gasoline and slammed the high profit margins as “unacceptable” at a time when families are grappling with record-high prices.
Biden said he directed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to hold an emergency meeting on the issue and to engage with the National Petroleum Council, an advisory committee representing the oil-and-gas industry.
The oil industry responded to Biden on Wednesday, pushing back on the president’s arguments.
“We are surprised and disappointed by the president’s letter,” Chet Thompson, CEO of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, said in a statement.
“Any suggestion that U.S. refiners are not doing our part to bring stability to the market is false,” Thompson said. “We would encourage the Administration to look inward to better understand the role their policies and hostile rhetoric have played in the current environment.”
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