It is an article of faith among critics of President Biden that his obsession with clean energy has come at the cost of reducing oil production in the United States, which in turn has helped create untold numbers of economic problems.
However, this faithfulness does not stand up to simple math: According to The Washington Post website, the United States in recent months has been producing a record 13.2 million barrels of oil per day, and that amount seems poised to continue increasing.
That’s more than the peak of 13.0 million per day delivered in November 2019 during the Trump administration, a few months before the covid-19 pandemic sharply reduced demand.
Current production is not only a record amount for this country, but it is more oil than any other nation has ever pumped. By comparison, Saudi Arabia produces about 9.4 million barrels per day. Russia is at 9.5 million.
There’s a reason many people don’t know about America’s production record: Because Biden’s campaign doesn’t want to talk about it.
“The politics of oil are particularly tricky for Democrats, whose chances for victory in the 2024 elections could hinge on whether young, climate-conscious voters come out in big numbers,” the Post reported. “Many of those voters want to hear that Biden is doing everything in his power to keep oil in the ground.”
One energy research firm manager said that while the administration remains focused on a transition away from carbon-based energy like oil, gas and coal, it is also being pragmatic about the need for “fossil fuels.”
Put another way, Biden and his team understand that we can’t just quit using oil; it’s going to take time before the infrastructure for alternative energy sources catches up with existing networks.
There are significant upsides for Biden to this energy pragmatism and more realistic view of the world.
“The United States is producing so much oil that it has undermined the influence of OPEC, which failed when it tried to make production cuts recently to drive prices up globally,” the Post story said. “The amount cut was quickly backfilled by the United States and other non-OPEC nations, which gladly grabbed the market share OPEC forfeited.”
It is clear that Russia caused the Biden recalibration when it invaded Ukraine in early 2022. A decision to avoid buying Russian oil caused gasoline prices to soar, and Biden essentially sent word to the American oil industry that the country needed more of its products.
Oil companies, freed of what the energy research firm manager called “a campaign of very restrictive rhetoric,” delivered: In February 2022, U.S. daily production was 11.2 million barrels. It hit 12 million per day in September of that year, and 13 million in August 2023.
American consumers have benefitted from Biden’s change of tone — though it is certainly fair to wonder if he would have chosen this course without the nudge from Russia. Gasoline prices have steadily declined over the past three months to a national average of about $3.00 per gallon. (Pike County prices were in the $2.50 to $2.55 range as the new year began.)
The alternative-energy crowd should not worry. That’s clearly the direction in which the country is heading, but no one can say with certainty when we’ll get there.
Still, if recent experiences prove anything, it’s that we’re not there yet, and the world still needs oil and other carbon-based energy sources to keep the economy humming.
Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
