Biden Admin Admits “9,000 Unused Oil Permits” Talking Point Is Wrong

The Biden administration updated quietly a federal database that showed how many were unutilized. Permits for oil and gas drilling It approved the reduction of more than 2,000.

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. The BLM is a subagency of the Department of the Interior. It claimed that the revision was due to a Trump-era technical error it hadn’t properly accounted.

“As of February 2023, companies have over 6,600 approved and unused drilling permits available on federal lands,” In a statement, the BLM stated that it was releasing information to Fox News Digital. “This number has been updated to account for a reporting discrepancy resulting from a transition to a new database in mid-2020.”

This suggests that President Joe Biden had exaggerated the extent of his administration’s involvement in this change. Oil and gas companies During the global energy crisis, they have not produced on permits approved.

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President Joe Biden and his Administration repeatedly cited the 9,000 unutilized oil and natural gas drilling permits. They argued that the oil industry was able to immediately start producing to lower high fuel prices. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh / FILE)

Reacting to criticisms of the restrictions placed on them by the government, Federal fossil fuel leasing The White House repeated the 9,000-permit number in amidst high gasoline prices and claimed that industry could immediately start producing.

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“Right now, the oil and gas industry is sitting on nearly 9,000 unused but approved permits for production on federal lands,” Biden made the comment in March 2022. “Families can’t afford that companies sit on … their hands.”

“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 more months later. “They’re not drilling. Why aren’t they drilling?”

John Kirby, White House spokesperson, stated that there were no such restrictions as recently as November. “there are plenty of opportunities for oil and gas companies to drill here in the United States,” The 9,000-permit figure is cited.

In November, the most recent month for which data is available, oil production on federal lands dropped to 12.28 millions barrels per day. Under Trump, the production peaked at 13,000,000 barrels per day. (iStock)

“Despite the administration’s inaccurate and misleading numbers, the reality is that the U.S. natural gas and oil industry is confronting the global energy crisis by continuing to work to meet the energy needs of U.S. consumers and our allies abroad,” Fox News Digital spoke with Frank Macchiarola (the American Petroleum Institute’s senior vice-president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs).

“It is time for the administration to end the finger-pointing and instead support American production with a comprehensive strategy for American energy development — one that includes a final five-year program for offshore leasing and quarterly onshore lease sales,” Macchiarola continued.

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Biden’s administration has been slow to sell oil and gas leases, only allowing sales when ordered by federal courts or the Inflation Reduction Act. The DOI delayed issuing a five-year congressionally required plan for offshore drilling. Weighing a complete block These leases are available through 2028.

Federal lands are used for oil production In November, the most recent month for which data is available, production fell to 12.28 millions barrels per day. Under Trump, the production peaked at 13,000,000 barrels per hour.

A Biden administration official however downplayed Monday’s alteration and stated that the number of unutilized oil and gas permits is still high.

“The record profits oil companies made in 2022 and the thousands of approved but unused drilling permits they are sitting on shows that there is nothing getting in the way of increasing oil production except Big Oil’s own decision to funnel their profits into the pockets of shareholders and executives,” Fox News Digital was told by the official.