I've seen this claim here a lot and have tried to verify it with no luck. It seems to be based on the January executive order that temporarily suspended new oil/gas leasing on federal lands and on the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline. However, neither of these policies would affect oil production in the short term:
1. Keystone XL pipeline extension had not been completed and, thus, was not moving any oil. It should also be noted that the existing Keystone pipeline is still functioning. It's only the XL extension on which construction was cancelled and, since only about 8% of it had been completed at the time of cancellation, it would've still been several years before it had any impact. Existing pipelines also appear to be able to handle increased volume even without the XL extension, and, oh yeah, Keystone brought in imported Canadian oil anyway, not US oil. SOURCE
2. The executive order was similarly forward-looking. It prevents NEW leases to drill on federal lands. All existing leases are still in effect and, in fact, the Biden administration is on pace (or at least they were as of July) to approve more new drilling permits (these are different than leases) this year than in any since GW Bush was president. SOURCE
"Because vast fossil fuel reserves already are under lease, those actions did nothing to slow drilling on public lands and waters that account for about a quarter of U.S. oil production."
3. Also noted in the above source, drilling on federal lands and waters makes up only about a quarter of US oil production. 75% of US oil production takes place on state or private land and has not been affected in any way by Biden administration policies regarding federal lands. If you include natural gas, production on federal lands is only about 9% of the total. SOURCE
"Holding back new drilling permits would gradually reduce production on federal land, since oil-and-gas wells pump less over time and companies have to drill new wells to sustain production.
But many companies have already obtained approvals to drill additional wells on U.S. lands, so they would be able to keep drilling for years, even if no additional permits are granted."
But many companies have already obtained approvals to drill additional wells on U.S. lands, so they would be able to keep drilling for years, even if no additional permits are granted."
4. While US oil production is, in fact, down a bit in 2021 as compared to 2020, the total change in output is estimated to be about 160,000 barrels per day, or only about 1.5% less. The drop in production appears to be more the result of pandemic-related demand issues than any government policy. It's also expected to rise 650,000 bpd (about 5.8% compared to 2021) in 2022. SOURCE
While it's accurate to say that Biden's long-term goal is to reduce US oil production in combination with a move to renewable energy sources, it is not accurate to say his policies have affected oil production in 2021. Should the suspension of leases remain, then, yes, years down the road, there would be less production on federal lands as the currently-active wells dry up and there becomes no more room for new drilling on existing leases. It is, of course, perfectly valid to disagree with the long-term goal, but there seems to be no link between higher gas prices in 2021 and Biden administration policies regarding US oil production (rather, it seems increased demand and higher prices have spurred increased production as the year has gone on), unless there are other policies of which I'm unaware.
Edit: @BuilderBob6 German'd be by one minute...guess I should've typed faster 😂
Last edited:
