Debunking the Claim that Biden Admin Has Been Good for Oil & Gas ANTI-DRILLING/FOSSIL FUEL | INDUSTRYWIDE ISSUES

We’ve read the canard a number of times in recent months that the Biden administration has been good for oil and gas. Why? Because (goes the Democrat line), O&G is producing more now than ever.

Debunking the Claim that Biden Admin Has Been Good for Oil & Gas

ANTI-DRILLING/FOSSIL FUEL | INDUSTRYWIDE ISSUES

May 21, 2024

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We’ve read the canard a number of times in recent months that the Biden administration has been good for oil and gas. Why? Because (goes the Democrat line), O&G is producing more now than ever. Because O&G companies are more profitable now than ever. Because O&G shareholders are doing better now than ever. So the Dems believe O&G should love the Biden administration. But here’s the truth: O&G is doing OK now DESPITE the onslaught against it by the Biden administration. The health and well being of O&G companies today is NOT the result of Biden’s policies (which have sought to destroy fossil energy), but despite those policies. We are doing OK today because of the lingering benefits of the policies put into effect under Donald Trump, not because of anything Joe Biden has done.

Jeff Duncan, a Congressman representing South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District since 2011, tackles the issue of O&G supposedly doing great under Joementia in an op-ed appearing in the Washington Times.

As President Biden works to destroy American energy security, my Democratic colleagues point to America’s increased production of oil and liquefied natural gas as reasons to continue Mr. Biden’s onslaught against American energy. The problem is, I can’t point to a single initiative of the Biden administration that helped increase oil and natural gas production in the country. On the contrary, each of Mr. Biden’s policies has waged war on energy production for American producers.

Since taking office, Mr. Biden has taken over 170 regulatory actions to make producing and delivering American energy harder. Mr. Biden’s anti-energy policies include:

• Banning LNG exports.

• Killing the Keystone pipeline and 11,000 potential jobs with it.

• Eviscerating offshore development in the Gulf of Mexico by proposing the fewest lease sales in history in the president’s five-year plan, which means decreased revenue for Gulf states and land and water conservation funds to protect land from development.

• Advancing a Bureau of Land Management rule to end drilling on federal land.

• Canceling leases in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.

• Slashing access to the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska after it drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Texas and Louisiana.

Mr. Biden’s policies are crippling critical energy production, driving us closer to the brink of an energy crisis. If we continue down this road and ultimately ban fracking in this country as Mr. Biden promised to do, then we will be reliant on China, Russia, Venezuela, Iran and other oligarchs or cartel members from across the globe instead of being energy independent.

While Americans suffer from the high cost of gas and unaffordable energy bills, Democrats try to claim victory for Mr. Biden by misleading Americans into thinking Mr. Biden’s policies are responsible for record oil and gas production.

The production that we see today is because of past administrations, like the Trump administration, that approved more leases to produce fuel. The Biden administration is required by law to issue a five-year plan for oil and natural gas leasing on the outer continental shelf. Under this plan, the Biden administration has the fewest lease sales proposed over the next five years than ever in the history of this country. To further cripple America, Mr. Biden is ensuring there are no new oil and gas leases off the coast of Alaska and in the Atlantic.

Simply, Mr. Biden flouts the law, caves to climate activists, and has the fewest lease sales of any administration.

While Democrats rush to praise Mr. Biden, they ignore that finding natural resources takes years, developing the well, and getting resources online. It doesn’t happen overnight or over three or four years. Much to their chagrin, the praise for America’s oil and gas production is really Democrats praising the policies of former President Donald Trump to unleash American energy.

I believe it’s time America is a global energy leader once again, meeting all our energy needs and becoming a net exporter to help allies wean themselves off our adversaries.

Before Mr. Biden came into office, the United States was a net exporter of oil. Our nation has so much natural gas that it’s almost immeasurable.

To restore our position as an energy leader, we must first produce energy. Vast natural resources, such as those in the Permian Basin, Marcellus Shale, Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico, can be used to generate power and bolster energy production.

Second, natural resources must be transported to be converted into energy. Pipelines deliver resources more safely, whether liquid or gas, than any other manner. While Mr. Biden works to shut down pipelines, I’m leading the fight to pass the Pipeline Safety, Modernization and Expansion Act of 2024. My bill prohibits natural gas bans, strengthens pipeline safety, implements permitting reform, and reduces emissions by encouraging carbon capture and storage investment.

Third, we must utilize these natural resources to generate electricity and other energy. We can efficiently use energy through an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet today’s energy demand and for the future — achievable by increasing baseload power generation through new, innovative technologies in tandem with renewables. Conservatives support the use of renewables, but not to the detriment of reliable, baseload power generation.

Last, we must embrace energy independence’s economic and national security benefits by exporting energy. Exporting to our allies bolsters our global positioning and supports allies trying to end their dependence on Russia, China and OPEC for energy.

The nation demands energy security, and Mr. Biden’s policies have proved opposed to keeping the lights on for Americans. I will continue to fight for reliable, affordable and clean energy for Americans.

Jeff Duncan has represented South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District since 2011.*

*Washington (DC) Times/Jeff Duncan (May 20, 2024) – Democrats praise Trump energy policies