The US was never energy independent - we sell our LNG and oil to other countries, and still buy oil from the Middle East, mainly because it's easier to buy foreign oil than to get our own oil to where it can be processed.
http://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/blog/2018/06/14/why-the-us-must-import-and-export-oil
There are 3 factors affecting the retail price of gasoline and heating oil - the price of the unrefined product, the cost to refine it, and the taxes the government imposes. ANY administration can only control one of those three - the tax, and that hasn't changed in years. The price charged for the raw product is going up, and there's very little ANY administration could do to affect that.
As far as fracking is concerned - it's fine if it's not being done anywhere near you. We used to do a lot of fracking here in TX, but not as much as before. Fracking sites near me have shut down due to public opposition. The process uses ridiculous amounts of water and has the nasty side effect of causing the occasional earthquake. |