<Anchor>
The US has announced additional sanctions to block Russia's oil export routes, but Europe is not willing to step in.
This is because European countries import quite a lot of oil from Russia.
This is Washington correspondent Yunsu Kim.
<Reporter>
The price of oil, which exceeded $7 per gallon, doubled in just a few days.
In California, the average oil price surpassed $5 a gallon for the first time ever.
[Hector Vargas/Operating a gas station in California, USA: 'Wow, the price of gas has gone up this much,' and many people even took pictures.
Some people were angry.]
Oil prices skyrocketed when the embargo on Russian crude oil was discussed.
The calculation is that the US is tightening Putin's money chain by blocking the export channels of Russian oil.
[Jen Saki, White House Press Secretary: Nothing has been decided yet regarding the embargo on Russian oil.
Internal discussions are ongoing, and we are also discussing with our allies.]
Europe, which has been keeping pace with the United States in sanctions against Russia, is not responding readily this time.
This is because Russia relies on Russia for 30% of Europe's annual oil consumption and 40% of natural gas.
The United States is considering a plan to start with independent sanctions first.
It is also considering easing the Venezuelan oil embargo to replace Russian crude, which accounts for about 3% of U.S. crude imports.
The US House of Representatives has introduced a bill to ban Russian oil imports.
As the energy crisis escalated, Brent crude prices hit $140 a barrel, a 14-year high.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister has stimulated the international community's anxiety over the energy crisis, saying that the international oil price will soar to $300 a barrel if the Russian oil embargo is implemented.
(Video coverage: Oh Jeong-sik, video editing: Park Ji-in)
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