Misinformation from the White House

By the Institute for Energy Research

When asked by a news correspondent this month if President Biden intended to reverse course and reinstate pro-America energy policies, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded that there are 9,000 approved oil leases that the oil companies are not tapping into currently. But, as American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers indicates, her statement amounts to factual distortion. "Just because you have a lease doesn't mean there's actually oil and gas in that lease, and there has to be a lot of development that occurs between the leasing and then ultimately permitting for that acreage to be productive," Sommers said. In fact, the industry is using a higher percentage of federal onshore and offshore leases than at any time in the past, and it is continuing to increase production to meet surging demand.

The Biden administration and particularly Jen Psaki need to better understand the oil industry and energy markets so that they stop spouting misleading statements about oil leases and other industry-related subjects. The reason there are 9,000 undeveloped oil leases is because companies do not want to invest the massive amounts of money and manpower necessary to drill for oil when the Biden administration is constantly threatening to impose new or increasing taxes, fees and regulations on the industry, and "working like the devil" through all the financial institutions to cut off their funding and "bankrupt them." With the ban on lease sales on federal lands, Biden has shown the U.S. oil industry through his actions that he does not want to do business with them. He would rather import oil from OPEC, Venezuela and Iran than to further develop the U.S. oil industry. His actions speak louder than his words.