Why can't the US stop soaring oil and gas prices?

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As oil prices soar, Texas oilman Herrick is trying to pump more oil to make more money.

He thinks output from his family-owned company will fall for the third year in a row.

After money dried up when energy prices plummeted, Pantera Energy has not invested in new production in years.

He is facing major delays as he hunts for supplies and staff to make the projects happen.

He says that their job is to try to produce as much as possible.

It is one of the signs that the high energy prices hitting households may be here to stay.

Since the beginning of the year, prices for oil and gas have doubled or tripled.

The war in Ukraine has made countries in the West shun Russian energy supplies.

US production is expected to increase by one million barrels per day this year.

The response to the last time prices were this high was not good, with less than 10% being enough to meet the rise in demand.

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The muted response reflects companies constrained by rising costs and shortages of key materials, equipment and staff - as well as by longer term questions from investors about how much oil and gas will be needed as the world tries to move away from polluting fossil fuels in response to climate change.

Mike Wendt, an engineer at oil exploration firm Lone Star productions, says his firm has several new projects in the works, but hasn't been able to find the steel pipes it needs, leading to delays and rising costs.

We are going to be drilling as quickly as we can, but we have all these supply and demand issues, and that is slowing the market.

The challenges facing companies in North America are unprecedented according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

While many small private companies are still pushing to boost output, the biggest firms have so far stuck with investment plans forged before prices really soared, choosing to put the windfalls primarily toward shareholder payouts.

Analysts say that the approach marks a major shift, reflecting pressure from Wall Street as climate change alters views of the energy sector.

As the world shifts away from fossil fuels, investors are pushing companies to share profits, instead of making long term investments.

The market is worried that demand won't be there and assets will be stranded.

Firms are likely to increase investment if prices stay high.

He says that it is not going back to the days of the go-go days. The Ukraine war highlighted that we still live in a world of fossil fuels. The energy transition has not been thrown away, but the conversation has been changed to include what we need in the short and medium term.

It has raised fears in the US that President Joe Biden, who made combatting climate change a centerpiece of his campaign, will stop pushing as hard for environmental rules to curb emissions and speed the transition to renewable energy.

His most ambitious proposals have been blocked with little sign of a breakthrough.

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As Republicans blame his environmental agenda for the high energy costs and his approval ratings sink, he has signed deals to boost US natural gas exports, released oil from national reserves and approved hundreds of permits for drilling on government land.

Robert Rozansky is a research analyst at Global Energy Monitor, which tracks energy projects around the world.

It is not unique to the US.

Western leaders, including US Vice President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, have pleaded for help from Saudi Arabia and other producers, which they say have the capacity to boost output without major new investments.

In Canada, the fourth largest oil producer after the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the liberal government has renewed talks about getting long-stalled oil and gas projects, like terminals to export natural gas to Europe, off the ground.

Alfred Sorenson is the chief executive of Pieridae Energy, a company that scrapped its plans for a natural gas terminal in Nova Scotia last year after struggling to find investors.

After a signal that the government might be willing to offer more support, it is now eyeing a revival.

Whether the shifting political winds can overcome market doubts is an open question, especially given ongoing public opposition to oil and gas infrastructure, which can tie up projects in legal limbo for years.

James Gunvalden Klaassen is a lawyer at EcoJustice, which has sued over aspects of the Pieridae project.

We already know that 20th century solutions don't work.

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He says that the Pieridae natural gas terminal would not be ready to ship natural gas until 2027, doing little to address the current crisis.

He says sustainable energy sources can be developed to achieve energy security in Europe and Canada.