President Joe Biden will again urge the oil majors on Monday to reinvest their profits to drive down energy prices and plans, if they don't, to ask Congress to tax their superprofits.

According to a White House official, Mr. Biden will once again urge the major oil and gas companies “to invest their record profits in order to lower energy costs for American families and increase their production” . "If they don't, he will ask Congress to consider taxing them and subjecting them to other restrictions," the official added.

With a week to go until the midterm elections and while Americans are unhappy with inflation and rising gas prices at the pump, the Democratic president will once again put pressure on the American hydrocarbon giants to help keep rising energy costs down.

Gasoline prices at the pump remain high for American motorists even though they have retreated in recent months after hitting record highs in the spring rising above $5 per gallon (3.78 liters).

To temper the rise, caused in particular by the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, a major oil and gas producer, the Democratic administration poured onto the market some 180 million barrels of crude, drawn, in a gesture without precedent, in its strategic reserves.

Joe Biden has repeatedly pointed the finger at the oil majors, accused of having made colossal profits, with the rise in crude prices, without trying to "relieve households".

The average price per gallon of gasoline was $3.76 on Monday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).