President Joe Biden's threat to impose a profit tax on oil companies is more of a boast than a threat, as the administration's time to curb fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections is running out, Bloomberg writes.

Democrats have tried unsuccessfully for more than a decade to impose a so-called "windfall profits tax" on oil companies. With an evenly divided Senate and House majority looking increasingly vulnerable, Biden's threat to impose a tax on oil giants would be all but impossible.

It should be seen as a political message ahead of the midterms rather than a serious policy proposal that could become law, Height Securities LLC said in a report. The proposal primarily serves as a means to fend off attacks by Republicans blaming the Biden administration for high fuel prices and inflation, which are of concern to voters in the run-up to the midterm elections, but the administration has little opportunity to change anything, the note said.

Biden's statements came as oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE broke records with multibillion-dollar profits in the second quarter, making them an easy target for the White House trying to rein in gasoline prices, which remain at historically elevated levels.

The idea of imposing a profit tax on oil companies has once again caught the attention of progressives in Congress after gasoline prices jumped to more than $5 a gallon this summer.

Biden said he would work with Congress to see what measures could be taken against companies that can't reinvest profits to increase oil production and refining capacity.

At a rally in Florida on Tuesday, Biden said Putin's invasion of Ukraine has caused gasoline prices to skyrocket around the world. But because of the actions the U.S. has taken, gasoline prices are coming down there at home.

The West's five largest oil companies earned more than $60 billion in the second quarter, beating the previous record set in 2008 by nearly 50 percent. Exxon announced that it even surpassed its record second-quarter results, earning $19 billion in just three months, the equivalent of about $206 million a day.

According to the Congressional Research Service, in 1980 the U.S. imposed a windfall profits tax on the U.S. oil industry, which ended up generating about $80 billion in gross revenue over the next eight years. But this additional revenue could have come from the development of domestic oil. According to CRS analysts, U.S. oil production fell 8 percent over the same time period, even as the U.S. became more dependent on foreign imports.

While Washington's interest in the super-profits tax may fade after next week's election, Biden's warning that oil companies may "face other restrictions" could signal the administration's intention to cut diesel exports.

Administration officials have pleaded with refiners to voluntarily cut exports and maximize gasoline and diesel shipments to the northeastern United States to help rebuild dwindling supplies before winter.