Ever since taking office, Joe Biden has received complaints about the high price of gasoline and other fuels as well as the slow collapse of America`s energy grid.
Critics point to Biden`s own policies, specifically the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and his failure to issue any more drilling permits beyond the bare minimum mandated by law.
) In response, Biden points the finger of blame at the oil and gas industry, claiming that the oil companies are “sitting on 9,000 unused drilling permits.
(Free Beacon) In his quest to shift blame for rising gas prices, President Joe Biden accused oil companies of “sitting on nearly 9,000 unused but approved” drilling permits.
Biden`s Interior Department quietly updated its list of unused permits to reflect a much lower figure: 6,600, E&E News reported Monday.
The department, which manages oil and gas drilling on federal land, blamed the change on a “reporting discrepancy.
” The revelation comes as a blow to Biden as he attempts to defend himself from Republican critics, who argue that the Democrat is “attacking American energy” and raising gas prices by slowing fossil fuel production.
I can hear some of you saying, `but wait… 6,600 is still a lot of permits lying idle, isn`t it?` That`s a fair point, but as with anything else related to America`s oil and gas industry or the energy grid in general, it`s a complicated situation.
The first thing to remember is that all of the oil and gas companies are working plots of land with known reserves under them.
Expanding beyond their current capacity is a huge challenge because of supply chain issues and labor shortages.
But even if all of the labor and supply chain issues disappeared overnight, the industry is currently not in the mood to make the massive capital investments required to expand production significantly.
And Joe Biden himself repeatedly promised to “end fossil fuels” on the campaign trail and began enacting disastrous policies to do just that as soon as he took office.
The oil and gas industry could come back to Trump-era production levels in a year or two if the confidence existed to do so.
But until the permanent power structure in Washington comes to its senses and stops bleating about the evils of oil and natural gas, it`s not going to happen.
https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2023/03/01/joe-bidens-9000-unused-drilling-permits-lie-n534052
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