RE: what facts?

Posted on: March 7, 2022 at 08:12:05 CT

this administration actually approved more US drilling permits per month in 2021 than President Trump did during each of the first three years of his presidency.

Fossil-fuel companies and their backers in Congress also profess that more drilling on public lands and waters would lower gas prices for Americans. But if that’s true, why hasn’t record oil extraction from both federal and non-federal lands over the last decade done anything to consistently lower, or at least stabilize, prices at the pump?

The fact is that crude oil is a volatile global commodity. Worldwide supply, demand, and unpredictable events – like wars – influence the price of gas, not the current administration’s decision to approve a few new leases or permits.

The oil industry already controls at least 26m acres of public land and is sitting on more than 9,000 approved drilling permits they’re not using.

They have a similarly gratuitous surplus offshore, where nearly 75% of their active federal oil and gas leases, covering over 8m acres, have yet to produce a single drop.

. In 2020, public lands and waters only accounted for 22% and 11% of oil and gas production, respectively. The vast majority of oil and gas resources are beneath state and private lands – not public lands or federal waters.