The Biden administration has ratcheted up pressure on US shale producers, telling them they should be doing “whatever it takes” to increase supply and tame oil prices that have soared following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Amos Hochstein, the state department’s special envoy and co-ordinator for international energy affairs, dismissed as “nonsense” industry claims that White House policies are holding back drilling and instead blamed Wall Street investors he said were hungry for returns.

Hochstein seized on comments from industry executives who have said their investors are wary about a new round of drilling campaigns for fear that the increased investments will eat into profits and capital returns.