", "Ron DeSantis voted to cut $473 billion from Medicare. For nearly a year, the Biden administration has attempted to redirect scrutiny over its slow walking of federal oil and gas leases by chastising U.S . No, the U.S. did not end its domestic oil production. Get the Poynter newsletter that's right for you. As Sommers noted in a recent blog, the administration should provide clarity on federal leasing and permit energy infrastructure. Please read our Terms & Conditions, Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy before using the site. ", While it was already established that this claim is misleading, new reporting reveals that the underlying number isnt even accurate. Oil and gas companies are currently sitting on 23 million acres of unused federal leases, an area roughly the size of Indiana. But it does import some of its oil from Russia, The U.S. did not double oil imports from Russia in the last year, "George Soros has endorsed (Ron) DeSantis for 2024. We should be honest about the facts.". Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James, toldCNN Businessthat oil and gas companies do not want to drill more., They are under pressure from the financial community to pay more dividends, to do more share buybacks instead of the proverbial drill, baby, drill, which is the way they would have done things 10 years ago. So, I took a trip out to ground zero for domestic oil and gas production Texas Permian Basin to hopefully bring some back. The Bureau of Land Management, which oversees oil and gas development on federal lands, updated its tally in an end-of-the-year report that shows that figure instead should have been much less, standing at about 6,600 untapped permits as of this month.. . Those permits . "They have to be sure that the costly investment (and time) that it takes to turn a lease into a producing well is worth it.". Biden Administration Brent crude hit $139 per barrel on March 7, and some traders are even betting that oil will reach $200 per barrel by the end of the month. Inform me please. This is false. And of the remaining 10% that occurs on federal land, the oil and gas industry has millions of acres leased," Biden said. "Sometimes there might not really even be producible oil and gas on a lease," Daigle said. Gas prices are high and up another 7 cents nationwide. Ultimately, energy policies affect the energy investment climate. ", "By the way, one thing I want to say about the oil companies: They talk about how we have they have 9,000 permits to drill," he added months later. I took a trip out to ground zero for domestic oil and gas production Texas' Permian Basin . 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. Key facts about federal leases: The argument about unused leases is a red herring, a smokescreen for energy policies that have had a hamstringing effect on the worlds leading producer of natural gas and oil. All Rights Reserved. Cohorn at Henry Resources said his land and legal crew started acquiring mineral leases in 2016. With oil at $120 or more, drilling there is wildly profitable.". With oil at $120 or more, drilling there is wildly profitable.". Producers also have to put a drilling plan together, secure rights of way and work with state and private landowners, Pett said. Those permits include those issued under . "Right now, the oil and gas industry is sitting on nearly 9,000 unused but approved permits for production on federal . "Producers also have to put a drilling plan together, secure rights of way and work with state and private landowners," Pett said. he paused oil and gas leasing on federal lands and last fall . And wells that have been drilled need to be maintained. When a lease is acquired, companies pay a "significant financial investment," and, if they do not get the lease producing, the company must pay an additional "rent" on the lease "until and unless it begins producing." The Mineral Leasing Act prevents one company from "locking up" federal lease acreage that is unproductive. Kevin OScannlain is APIs vice president of Upstream Policy. Companies dont have to immediately begin drilling as their leases last 10 years and can be extended beyond that. The Biden Administration violated Congressional statute by halting all federal oil and gas lease sales - onshore and offshore - and is thereby laying the groundwork for a decline in federal production over time. Oil and gas companies can raise funds from investors by not drilling on leases with proven reserves, said Hugh Daigle, an associate professor at the University of Texas Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. Most importantly, it should complete work on a long-term plan for offshore oil and gas development, to replace the one that expires this summer. And of the remaining 10% that occurs on federal land, the oil and gas industry has millions of acres leased," Biden said. In total, the oil industry now holds leases to roughly 25 million acres of public lands an area approximately the size of Kentucky. According to Interior's figures, more than three-quarters of the offshore federal waters already under lease remain unused that's about 8 million acres where companies could drill new . BLM drilling approvals tapered off after a big jump in 2021. Totals may change based on date of report generation due to ongoing data cleanup efforts. The Biden administration quietly updated a federal database that shows how many unused oil and gas drilling permits that it has approved, reducing the number by more than 2,000. The moratorium represents a step further than Secretarial Order No. This is all private land, which is where 90% of the oil produced in the U.S. comes from. Having thousands of unused drilling permits is not something that is unique to Bidens tenure. So this is a map of our acreage, he said, referring to an area between 6,000 and 7,000 acres in size. The numbers on oil and gas leasing in Nevada over the last several years show us how broken the federal leasing program is. Marketplace is a division of MPR's 501 (c)(3). Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He contended that the onus is on U.S. oil and gas companies that have permits to begin drilling, but havent started. Production peaked at 13 million barrels a day under the Trump administration. Here's why: President Joe Biden said that his policies have not made the U.S. less equipped to withstand the impact of the ban on Russian energy imports. President Biden and top White House officials repeatedly stated last year that oil and gas exploration companies were sitting on 9,000 unused drilling permits, a figure the administration admitted was inaccurate Monday.. Companies dont have to immediately begin drilling as their leases last 10 years and can be extended beyond that. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an economist and president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, said firms are trying to assess the durability of the global rebound. Most of the time, its rented equipment. But it does import some of its oil from Russia, Feb. 28, 2022, PolitiFact, The U.S. did not double oil imports from Russia in the last year, Feb. 28, 2022, Email interview, Vedant Patel, White House spokesperson, March 8, 2022, Email interview, Melissa Schwartz, Department of Interior spokesperson, March 8, 2022, Email interview, Jennifer Pett, spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, March 8, 2022, Email interview, Josh Axelrod, National Resources Defense Council senior advocate, March 8, 2022, Email interview, Hugh Daigle, associate professor at the University of Texas Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, March 9, 2022, Email interview, Gernot Wagner, associate professor of environmental studies at New York University, March 9, 2022, Email interview, Gary Yohe, professor of economics and environmental studies at Wesleyan University, March 9, 2022, This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: PolitiFact: Biden right oil industry has over 9,000 permits to drill, 02-2503-2490. Now, for the second claim, about the usefulness of American energy to Ukraine. The project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the company about 1.5 percent of total U.S. oil production. Investors remain reluctant to invest in fossil fuels. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. February 27, 2023 05:28 PM. Is Biden sharing all the facts here? . Thousands of unused permits are not uncommon in any presidential administration. Halting new federal mineral leases will reduce oil and gas investment by hundreds of millions of dollars in Colorado and . Feb 2021 Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan 2022 Feb 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700. Eric Gay/AP. Government policies can either discourage or encourage oil producers to take the risk of investing billions of dollars, plus considerable time and effort, to find out whether or not the lands they lease are viable sources of oil. ", In 2020, the oil bust created worker and supply shortages and caused companies to cut their budgets. "Its simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production," Biden said March 8 in a speech announcing a U.S. ban on Russian oil imports. Above, drilling rigs sit unused in Odessa, Texas. , Then, an electrical submersible pump, or ESP, was sucked down into the well. Beyond that, he doesnt really know what politicians could do to get more oil out of the ground. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. Psaki has made the claim about unused federal leases before. "Companies sometimes hold leases as a bit of a mind game with their competitors, or even just because they didnt properly assess the production potential prior to leasing due to lack of data or that sort of thing. The law already requires companies to either produce oil and/or gas on leases or return the leases to the government the so-called use it or lose it provision generally in the first 10 years. Like when the president points out that some of his competitors are sitting on 9,000 federal land leases they havent drilled. Specifically, they impact the ability of producers typically accountable to shareholders to take the risks involved in spending billions of dollars to find and develop oil and gas. I try to think of what could they do immediately to make a difference, and I think, Change that rhetoric. Thats an easy thing to do, he said. He worked in the oil and gas industry for five years and now teaches petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. The second, by some industry opponents, is that ramping up U.S. production will not help the Ukrainian people today. CEO of Alaska Oil & Gas Association Kara Moriarty joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss the implications of canceling the project and why it would hurt the locals most. If . Despite attempts to portray the industry as stockpiling unused permits, "a greater share of federal leases by over 40% in . How is Groundwater Protected During Hydraulic Fracturing? But one year after announcing a halt to any new federal oil and gas leasing, Biden has outpaced Donald Trump in issuing drilling permits on public lands.After setting a record for the largest . The U.S. has more than 24 million acres under lease to oil and gas companies onshore close to half are not producing. TheU.S. Energy Information Administrationin January forecasted that U.S. oil production will average 12.4 million barrels per day during 2023, surpassing the record high for domestic crude oil production set in 2019. "Companies sometimes hold leases as a bit of a mind game with their competitors, or even just because they didnt properly assess the production potential prior to leasing due to lack of data or that sort of thing. This is the path to sound energy policy that keeps America safe and strong and allows American energy to support allies. All rights reserved. The oil industry already has at least 10 years' worth of unused leases at its disposal, even with the leasing pause. The DOI has delayed issuing a congressionally five-year plan for offshore drilling and is weighing a complete block on such leasing through 2028. Gas Prices Companies sometimes hold leases as a bit of a mind game with their competitors, or even just because they didnt properly assess the production potential prior to leasing due to lack of data or that sort of thing., In 2020, the oil bust created worker and supply shortages and caused companies to cut their budgets. However, once the permit is approved, drilling doesnt start overnight. And is it Joe Bidens fault? 1,867 pending oil and gas leases. Lets address two claims heard about American natural gas and oil production amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. What Does EPA Say About Water Contamination? The average barrels of crude oil produced per day spiked during Trumps subsequent years, swelling to almost 12.3 million in 2019. 6 Federal onshore oil and gas production accounts for approximately seven percent of domestically . Experts also suggested that drilling domestically is more costly than drilling overseas, which could further deter oil companies in the U.S. from upping production. During Bidens first year in office, the U.S.produced an averageof about 11 million barrels of crude oil per day compared to Trumps 9 million barrels per day in his first year. ", "(Ron) DeSantis' bill would remove: background checks, instruction, training and oversight. Before they could start drilling, they had to negotiate with the folks who own the land. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revised the current number of approved applications for permits to drill (APD) which oil and gas companies are required to file once they identify a deposit on a lease that can be tapped down from an estimated 9,000 to less than 6,700. Companies reporting gross acreage while ignoring the quality of that land and production potential is one of the less talked about issues. "So it simply wasnt profitable to drill with oil below $70. And any company that wanted to start drilling on those 9,000 federal leases would face the same problems. Joe Biden Jen Psaki vs. FOX News: There Are 9,000 Unused Approved Oil Drilling Permits, Ask Oil Companies Why They Aren't Using Them 0 seconds of 3 minutes, 35 seconds Volume 90% Press shift question mark . It has become a line the White House pivots to when pressed to explain why it isnt doing more to support American oil and gas production with soaring demand putting upward pressure on prices and with much of Europe at the mercy of its top energy provider, Russia. Their University Retaliated Against Them. Before drilling can occur, the lease holder has to get a federal permit. ", "They are under pressure from the financial community to pay more dividends, to do more share buybacks instead of the proverbial 'drill, baby, drill,' which is the way they would have done things 10 years ago. ", Sen. Marco Rubio "helped write the law to raise prescription prices.". rate fact-checks based on evidence available at the time. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended. U.S. President Joe Biden wants oil drillers to pay penalties when federal leases go unused in an effort to prod the industry into pumping . Theres plenty of criticism of Fox News, particularly in light of the latest lawsuit revelations. ", The White House is now attempting to ban all gas ovens and burners.. This is false. The Biden administration quietly updated a federal database that shows how many unused oil and gas drilling permits that it has approved, reducing the number by more than 2,000.. 20006, Florida "These are the facts. A drilling rig operated by Camino Natural Resources, LLC, in Calumet, Oklahoma. I stopped his Election from being stolen. The change suggests that President Joe Biden and administration officials had overstated the extent to which oil and gas companies have neglected producing on approved permits amid the global energy crisis last year. He unfurled a map on the bed of his big, red, muddy pickup truck. "They have 9,000 permits to drill now. They exist. Florida Senate Bill 2A does not provide "immediate relief" to homeowners dealing with high property insurance rates and "will force some constituents to pay up to 20% more. American oil and gas producers are able and willing to do their part to support American energy leadership, including providing energy that can help allies abroad. With Russian tanks encircling Kyiv and Russian artillery pounding Ukrainian civilians, the importance of American energy could hardly be clearer. 2023 World Oil, 2023 Gulf Publishing Company LLC. , Is that True? However, the unused drilling leases represent a fraction of the active permits, many of which are being used by the private sector to produce oil and gas daily, industry groups said. March 2, 2021, PolitiFact, No, the U.S. did not end its domestic oil production. A federal judge has revoked oil and gas leases sold in the Gulf of Mexico in November, saying the Interior Department did not take into account its impact on climate change. 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