The United States holds the title of being the largest oil producer globally, having achieved a remarkable feat in 2023 by extracting a record-breaking 12.9 million barrels per day.
This marks a major achievement for the American economy, although it’s not something you’ll hear Joe Biden boasting about. The reason behind it is quite clear: election-year politics. Highlighting the record-breaking oil production in the United States would potentially alienate one of President Biden’s key support groups, the climate lobby.
The president’s silence on the matter can be attributed to another reason. It is clear that he understands he cannot take any credit for the impressive production records. Over the past three years, his actions have been focused on undermining the affordability, accessibility, and reliability of American energy sources.
The credit for achieving energy independence in the United States in 2019, for the first time in 70 years, goes to the hardworking innovators, entrepreneurs, and roughnecks, particularly those in places like my home state of Wyoming. These individuals consistently put in tremendous effort and take significant risks in their daily work. It is through their vision and labor that the country was able to achieve this milestone.
Candidate Joe Biden did not celebrate their achievement but instead threatened to throw them out of work. He made a “guarantee” that his administration would “end fossil fuel.” In the early days of his presidency, he took action by killing the Keystone Pipeline and canceling federal lease sales and existing leases. Furthermore, he has initiated a regulatory assault on the fuels that currently provide four-fifths of the nation’s energy.
Despite reaching record-high levels of oil output, there is potential for even greater production if not for the president’s concerted effort to discourage investment. Prior to President Biden’s inauguration, the Energy Information Administration projected a 2023 oil output of 14 million barrels per day. However, the actual output fell short of this forecast by 1.1 million barrels per day.
Oil production reached a record high in 2023 due to the increasing extraction of oil and natural gas from private and state lands. Unlike in the past, developers no longer require permission from the federal government to drill. In 2005, around 68 percent of our oil and 62 percent of our gas were produced from private and state lands. Today, these figures have risen to approximately 75 percent for oil and 90 percent for gas. Interestingly, a significant portion of this production occurs in states led by Republicans, including Wyoming.
Production on federal lands is currently sustained by wells drilled on leases issued before President Biden took office. Although the administration is obligated to issue drilling permits to existing leaseholders, there has been a noticeable delay in the process. This reliance on past leases is only a temporary solution, and it is clear that our current production levels are unsustainable in the long run.
The administration is not providing many new leases either. In the years from 2001 to 2020, both Democrat and Republican administrations typically issued around 2,000 new leases, covering a total of 2.3 million acres each year. However, during Joe Biden’s first full fiscal year as president, the number of new leases dropped dramatically to just 120, covering a mere 75,000 acres. These reductions amount to more than a 90 percent decrease compared to the previous 20-year averages. Unfortunately, preliminary data for FY2023 suggests that there has been little improvement.
According to press reports, the Biden administration has leased the fewest acres for onshore drilling since the end of World War II. Additionally, it aims to limit future access to millions of additional acres through land designations that Congress did not authorize.
The future doesn’t look promising for federal offshore areas, which contribute approximately 15 percent of U.S. oil production. In 2022, three offshore lease sales were canceled by the administration. Despite Congress mandating these sales, the administration attempted to impose conditions that would render them economically unviable. Additionally, a leasing plan for 2025-2029 was introduced, which includes the lowest number of lease sales ever recorded.
The president’s misguided decisions will solidify his fervent commitment to climate change. OPEC and Russia will benefit from increased market influence and geopolitical power. It is impossible for us to sustain, let alone expand, production in federal areas unless we revert back to the lease and acreage levels prior to the Biden administration.
There is a lot more at play here than just incompetence. This is a deliberate ideological attempt to stifle American energy, which has far-reaching consequences for the jobs and income it brings.
The United States is currently experiencing a significant increase in oil production. However, if President Biden chooses to oppose this growth, it could result in a greater reliance on OPEC, Venezuela, Russia, and Iran in the coming years. The negative consequences of the president’s misguided approach may not become apparent until his administration is a thing of the past. By limiting the number of leases available for exploration, future administrations will have fewer drilling permits to approve, ultimately leading to a decrease in oil production.
That’s not something to be proud of.
John Barrasso holds the position of Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.