Critics accuse President Joe Biden of launching an oil war that is harming customers at the pump. Despite this, US oil output is on track to break all-time highs recorded during the Trump administration.
According to federal projections issued Tuesday, US oil output is now expected to reach an all-time high of 12.8 million barrels per day this year.
For comparison, that is almost 500,000 barrels per day higher than the previous annual record set in 2019. It also produces more oil than any other country on the earth, with Saudi Arabia producing around 10 million barrels per day, according to OPEC.
The impending milestone calls into question the GOP presidential candidates’ claim that the Biden administration is strangling the oil industry with red tape.
If anything, the outlook for US oil production has improved recently, thanks in large part to a comeback in oil prices and improved drilling efficiency.
The US Energy Information Administration, or EIA, has raised its 2023 output forecast by 200,000 barrels from its previous estimate. The United States oil output is expected to reach a new high of 13.1 million barrels per day next year.
However, former Vice President Mike Pence vowed earlier this week to reverse the “failed policies of the Biden administration” and to put an end to “Joe Biden’s war on energy.” The presidential candidate for 2024 unveiled a new energy strategy that includes enabling additional drilling on federal lands, reducing permission time by half, and replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Since Pence and former President Trump left office, US oil output has grown, at a time when oil prices were low because of the Covid-19 situation. The EIA predicts that US output will exceed 12.9 million barrels per day later this year. That would be a 16% rise since Biden assumed office in January 2021.
Domestic oil output increased as the US shale revolution took hold, freeing massive supplies of oil and natural gas in Texas and elsewhere.
Climate Change Versus Inflation
Expect no fireworks from the White House if and when the oil production record is broken.
When it comes to the oil business, which the president has lambasted at times, the Biden administration has faced a tough balance.
On the one hand, Biden launched the most aggressive climate campaign of any US president in history. Climate scientists say it’s important to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil fuel industry and eventually wean the globe off of oil.
Nonetheless, the White House is particularly sensitive to increases in petrol costs because voters regard pump pricing as an important economic gauge.
Officials close to Biden understand that in order to fulfill recovering demand, US oil corporations must steadily boost supply.
This is especially true given that Russia, Saudi Arabia, and OPEC as a whole have held back barrels in an effort to boost prices. Saudi Arabia pledged last week to continue its oil production limit for at least another month. Russia has stated that it will reduce its oil shipments by 300,000 barrels per day in September.
