Crude Intentions: Biden White House Frantically Looks Abroad For Energy That Americans Can And Should Produce At Home

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Acknowledged A New Iran Deal Would Mean ‘The Availability Of Oil’

REPORTER: “Does the potential for an Iran deal factor into the [oil] supply considerations at this point?”
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI: “I would say that the biggest priority with the Iran deal is having visibility into and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Obviously, as a part of that, if you go back to the implementation of the JCPOA, would be the availability of oil.” (White House Press Briefing, 3/04/2022)

“Iranian oil production capacity can reach its maximum less than two months after a nuclear deal is reached, Oil Minister Javad Owji was quoted as saying on Thursday. Iran sits on the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves but its crude output has dropped since the imposition of U.S. sanctions on its economy in 2018, when then-U.S. President Donald Trump exited a 2015 nuclear deal.” (“Iran Can Reach Top Oil Output 2 Months After Nuclear Deal -Oil Minister,” Reuters, 3/03/2022)

• IRANIAN OIL MINISTER JAVAD OWJI: “As soon as nuclear negotiations in Vienna are concluded, we can reach our maximum oil production capacity in less than one or two months.” (“Iran Can Reach Top Oil Output 2 Months After Nuclear Deal -Oil Minister,” Reuters, 3/03/2022)

And The Biden Administration Is Considering A Trip To Saudi Arabia To ‘Convince The Kingdom To Pump More Oil’

“President Biden’s advisers are discussing a possible visit to Saudi Arabia this spring to help repair relations and convince the Kingdom to pump more oil, Axios has learned. … A hat-in-hand trip would illustrate the gravity of the global energy crisis driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden has chastised Saudi Arabia, and the CIA believes its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was involved in the dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.” (“Scoop: Biden Advisers Weigh Saudi Arabia Trip For More Oil,” Axios, 3/06/2022)

Earlier This Year, A Judge Blocked The Largest Offshore Oil Lease Sale In U.S. History, Which ‘The Biden Administration Actually Did Not Want To Sell’ And Though The Sales Are Required By Law, ‘The Administration Hasn’t Appealed’ The Ruling

“A federal judge [in January 2022] invalidated the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in the nation’s history, ruling that the Biden administration violated federal law by relying on a seriously flawed analysis of the climate change impact of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The decision in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia threw out 1.7 million acres of oil and gas leases that the Biden administration actually did not want to sell. Shortly after taking office, President Biden suspended new oil and gas drilling on lands and waters owned by the federal government. But after a Louisiana judge struck down the moratorium last summer, administration officials said they were forced to go through with the sale in November.” (“Judge Throws Out Massive Gulf Of Mexico Oil And Gas Lease Sale,” The Washington Post, 1/27/2022)

• “A U.S. judge’s surprise decision this week to annul the Biden administration’s first Gulf of Mexico oil lease auction because of its climate change impact has raised questions about the future of the nation’s federal drilling program – and played directly into the president’s hand. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, made a campaign pledge to end federal oil and gas drilling to fight climate change, and he quickly announced a suspension of all new lease sales pending a broad review of drilling's impact on global warming after taking office. Some 25% of U.S. oil and gas production comes from federal lands and waters. But his administration was later forced into the sale after several drilling states successfully sued in federal court in Louisiana. They argued that U.S. law requires the federal government to hold auctions on a regular basis to enhance energy independence and generate revenue. … Biden's Interior Department must now do what it originally intended: take a fresh look at environmental and climate impacts of drilling. It has not yet said yet whether it will suspend other planned drilling auctions pending review, or how long the review will take.” (“Analysis: Biden Gets Climate Win With Court Loss On Gulf Of Mexico Oil Leases,” Reuters, 1/28/2022)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “A judge last June struck down the President’s leasing ban on federal land and ordered Interior to hold quarterly leases as required by law. Only in November did Interior finally hold an offshore sale. Then green groups sued, and a liberal judge blocked the sales. The Administration hasn’t appealed.” (Editorial, “Biden’s Fossil-Fuel Blockade,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/04/2022)

U.S. Officials Actually Traveled To Venezuela For ‘Rare Face-To-Face Meetings… With A View To Allowing Venezuelan Crude Oil Back On To The Open International Market’

“The Biden administration is seeking to ease oil sanctions on Venezuela as part of a broader U.S. strategy to temper oil prices that have skyrocketed because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. officials began rare face-to-face meetings with Venezuelan officials in Caracas over the weekend, with a view to allowing Venezuelan crude oil back on to the open international market, these people said. … The proposals being discussed in the Venezuelan capital would ease sanctions for a limited period on U.S. national security grounds.” (“U.S. Officials Meet With Regime In Venezuela, To Discuss Oil Exports To Replace Russia’s,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/06/2022)

• “Mr. Maduro appeared open to discussing oil deals with the United States. ‘Here lies the oil of Venezuela, which is available for whomever wants to produce and buy it, be it an investor from Asia, Europe or the United States,’ he said in a public speech on [March 3^rd].” (“U.S. Officials Travel to Venezuela, a Russia Ally, as the West Isolates Putin,” The New York Times, 3/05/2022)

But The Biden Administration Spent Its First Year Working To Curtail Oil And Gas Production And Exploration In Alaska

In June 2021, The Administration Suspended Oil And Gas Leases In ANWR

“The Biden administration on [June 1, 2021] suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and reviving a political fight over a remote region that is home to polar bears and other wildlife — and a rich reserve of oil. The order by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland follows a temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease activities imposed by President Joe Biden on his first day in office.” (“Biden Suspends Oil Leases In Alaska’s Arctic Refuge,” The Associated Press, 6/01/2021)

The Administration Then Threw Out Previous Environmental Reviews And Initiated A New Months-Long Process, Stalling Development Even Further, With Frustrated Alaskan Officials Decrying ‘Another Political Stall Tactic At The Behest Of Radical Environmental Groups’

“The United States will start a new environmental review of oil and gas leasing in an Alaska wildlife refuge, it said on Tuesday, a process that may determine the fate of drilling parcels handed out in the final days of the Trump administration. The widely anticipated move comes two months after U.S. President Joe Biden's administration suspended the nine leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge pending an environmental analysis. … When it suspended the leases, the Interior Department said a new review would determine whether they would stand, be voided, or be subject to mitigation measures. The administration kicked off that review with a notice on a federal government website announcing a 60-day public comment period. The entire process could take about 18 months to complete, it said.” (“U.S. Orders New Review Of Drilling In Alaska Wildlife Refuge,” Reuters, 8/03/2021)

“The Interior Department will review and could replace the Trump-era management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska that put millions more acres on the table for possible oil and gas development, the agency announced Tuesday. An initial assessment of the management plan shows that it conflicts with President Joe Biden’s executive order in January to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a legal memorandum filed in a U.S. District Court case in Anchorage on Tuesday.” (“Biden Administration To Reconsider Trump-Era Plan That Expanded Drilling Opportunities In National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Anchorage Daily News, 9/08/2021)

• “At the end of [2020], the Trump administration approved the most intensive development option for the reserve, putting 18.5 million acres on the table for possible development… Daniel-Davis said in the memorandum…. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in a post to social media on Wednesday, called the Biden administration’s move to review the plan a ‘politically motivated stunt to lock up the NPR-A,’ saying it is ‘short sighted, threatens Alaskan jobs and seeks to undermine investment in our state.’” (“Biden Administration To Reconsider Trump-Era Plan That Expanded Drilling Opportunities In National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Anchorage Daily News, 9/08/2021)

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): “Alaskans for over 40 years have urged Congress to develop and implement a leasing program for the Coastal Plain. With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the Secretary is directed to establish two area wide leasing sales, not less than 400,000 acres each in the Coastal Plain. A distinguished team of career experts and scientists at the Department of the Interior spent thousands of hours over nearly two years developing a full range of alternatives and protective mitigation measures that would apply to all oil and gas activities in the 1002 Area, and now this administration is going to throw it all away and start over because they don’t agree with it. That’s politics plain and simple.” (Sen. Sullivan, Press Release, 8/03/2021)

SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): “BLM conducted years of fact-based, scientific work in developing a durable EIS and leasing program for the non-wilderness 1002 Area of ANWR, as required by federal law. Today, the Biden administration has thrown the work of the BLM career scientists out the window in just another political stall tactic at the behest of radical environmental groups and far-left members of the administration. By initiating this supplemental EIS, the Biden administration is ignoring the will of Congress, the will of Alaskans, and the best interests of the Alaska Native communities on the North Slope. This is lawlessness, pure and simple.” (Sen. Sullivan, Press Release, 8/03/2021)

One Alaskan Company Is Now Suing The Biden Interior Department Over Its Mismanagement

“An Alaskan public corporation that was the top bidder for oil and gas leases in an Alaska wildlife refuge has sued the Biden administration, alleging it took unlawful steps to block development of the drilling parcels. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) alleged in an Anchorage federal court complaint Thursday that the Biden administration arbitrarily and capriciously suspended work on seven tracts the agency leased in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during President Donald Trump's last days in office. The lawsuit says Interior Secretary Deb Haaland violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by issuing a June order that halts oil and gas leasing activities, including exploration and production, in the refuge pending completion of a new review over potential environmental impacts…. AIDEA executive director Alan Weitzner said in a statement that ‘the continued delay and obstruction of these leases impacts Alaska's economic future for generations.’” (“Alaskan Agency Sues Biden Admin Over Arctic Refuge Drilling Freeze,” Reuters, 11/05/2021)

The Administration Has Also Spent Months And Months Stalling And Stymieing Oil And Gas Sales In Western States Like Wyoming And New Mexico

Oil And Gas Sales In Multiple Western States, Including Wyoming And New Mexico, Were Delayed By The Interior Department Yet Again Last Month, Making Five Consecutive Quarters In A Row The Biden Administration Has Failed To Hold Legally Required Sales

“The sales in multiple states including New Mexico were again delayed as the DOI sought to reevaluate its environmental analysis for the parcels that were nominated and evaluated under the previous administration. This involved use of the ‘social cost of carbon’ (SCC), a concept created under the administration of former-President Barack Obama and embraced by Biden. The concept accounts for how pollution impacts public safety, the environment or the economy estimating a cost of $51 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions. Under Biden's predecessor former-President Donald Trump, the SCC was valued at $7 per ton.” (“Oil And Gas Land Sales In New Mexico Delayed Again As Feds Debate ‘Social Cost Of Carbon.’” Carlsbad Current Argus, 2/24/2022)

• PETROLEUM ASSOCIATION OF WYOMING: “[D]espite congressionally mandated obligations under the Mineral Leasing Act and June 2021 nationwide injunction requiring the resumption of lease auctions, the Biden administration has refused to offer mineral lease auctions in Wyoming for five consecutive quarters.” (“BLM Misses Deadline For Federal Oil, Gas Lease Sale,” Wyoming Tribune Eagle, 2/19/2022)

• WESTERN ENERGY ALLIANCE’s Kathleen Sgamma: “Officials are hoping to stall long enough to use the [‘social cost of carbon] to justify not leasing. But the legal maneuvering means the department is now violating actual law on the books. It’s now been five quarters that the Interior Department has failed to hold quarterly lease sales as required by the Mineral Leasing Act.” (“Oil And Gas Land Sales In New Mexico Delayed Again As Feds Debate ‘Social Cost Of Carbon.’” Carlsbad Current Argus, 2/24/2022)

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY), Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member: “The Biden administration continues to defy the courts and the law. The [Bureau of Land Management] has blown past a critical deadline required to hold the first federal onshore oil and gas lease sale this year. As a result, Wyoming and other Western states will now miss oil and gas lease sales for the fifth quarter in a row. Even in the face of a global energy crisis, historic inflation, and skyrocketing gasoline prices, the Biden administration continues to crush U.S. energy production.” (Sen. Barrasso, Press Release, 2/16/2022)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “Mr. Biden hasn’t held an onshore lease sale and is the only President in at least two decades not to have done so in a given year.” (Editorial, “Biden’s Fossil-Fuel Blockade,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/04/2022)

In November 2021, The Biden Administration Announced A New 20 Year Ban On Oil And Gas Leasing In Part Of New Mexico

“President Biden will announce on Monday that his administration is moving to block new federal oil and gas leasing within a 10-mile radius around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico …” (The New York Times, 11/15/2021)

• “In the coming weeks, administration officials said, the Bureau of Land Management, which is part of the Interior Department, will publish a notice in the Federal Register that will initiate the process of banning new oil and gas leases on federal land in the 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historical Park for a period of 20 years.” (The New York Times, 11/15/2021)

• “Enacting the new plan to protect the area around Chaco Canyon will be Interior Secretary Deb Haaland … a former environmental activist …” (The New York Times, 11/15/2021)

ROBERT McENTYRE, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association spokesman: “There doesn’t appear to be a scientific or environmental rationale for that 10-mile radius…. And given the role that oil and gas plays in the economy of that area, we shouldn’t have an arbitrary number that would limit economic opportunities, perhaps the only economic opportunities, in that part of the state…. No one is saying that we want to develop inside the park or that we need to be directly inside its boundaries…. But the 10-mile number appears to be arbitrary. Especially over such a long period that could have generational consequences.” (The New York Times, 11/15/2021)

FLASHBACK: Biden Said ‘Human Rights Will Be The Center Of Our Foreign Policy,’ Yet Has Repeatedly Gone Hat-In-Hand To Countries With Poor Human Rights Records To Ask Them To Produce More Oil

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: “I’ve been clear that human rights will be the center of our foreign policy.” (President Biden, Remarks, 8/31/2021)

“The Biden administration surprised the oil market with an early morning statement from National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan calling on OPEC+, which includes the cartel as well as Russia, to raise output to take some of the heat off the market. That’s an unusual call, not only because those countries are competitors of the U.S. in the global crude trade, but, as both Republicans and environmentalists noted, Biden has cast himself as a climate warrior who wants to move the U.S. to clean energy.” (“Biden Asks OPEC What?,” Politico’s Morning Energy, 8/12/2021)

• “Biden administration officials spoke with representatives from OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia [in early August 2021], as well as with … other OPEC+ members. The White House said the group’s July agreement to boost production by 400,000 barrels per day on a monthly basis beginning in August and stretching into 2022 is ‘simply not enough’ during a ‘critical moment in the global recovery.’” (“White House Calls On OPEC To Boost Oil Production As Gasoline Prices Rise,” CNBC, 8/11/2021)

Biden Administration Officials And Democrat Leaders Have Consistently Communicated Their Hostility To Producing Oil And Gas On American Public Lands

FOX NEWS’ DANA PERINO: “Will there be anything in the speech to talk about reversing some of those policies, for example, either Keystone Pipeline or allowing our oil and gas companies to pursue federal oil and gas leases, even while we try to transition, in the future, in a -- with a smart path to greener energy?...”
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI: “But, Dana, the policies you mentioned… they are not policies that would address the issue at all. This Keystone Pipeline, it would take years for that to have an impact on prices. Obviously, there are a range of reasons why the president opposes it, but it wasn't functioning, isn't functioning. It would take years.” (Fox News, 3/1/2022)

• PSAKI: “The reason why we are seeing volatility in the global oil markets, the reason why the price of gas is going up is not because of steps the President has taken; they are because President Putin is invading Ukraine, and that is creating a great deal of instability in the global marketplace.” (White House Press Briefing, 3/4/2022)

NOW-INTERIOR SECRETARY DEB HAALAND: “Sure, if I had my way, it’d be great to stop all oil and gas leasing on federal lands, because those lands belong to all of us.” (“What Biden’s Interior Pick Means For Oil And Gas,” E&E News, 12/18/2020)

• HAALAND: “I am wholeheartedly against fracking and drilling on public lands…” (“‘It’s My Homeland’: The Trailblazing Native Lawmaker Fighting Fossil Fuels,” The Guardian, 5/15/2019)

HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): “I'm not for drilling on public lands.” (Speaker Pelosi, Press Conference, 3/3/2022)

On His First Day In Office, President Biden Cancelled The Keystone XL Pipeline, Making It More Difficult And More Expensive To Get Oil To Refineries And ‘Sending An Early Signal That The Climate Panic Will Trump Nearly Everything Else In His Administration’

“The Canadian pipeline company that had long sought to build the Keystone XL pipeline announced [in June] that it had terminated the embattled project, which would have carried petroleum from Canadian tar sands to Nebraska. The announcement was the death knell for a project that had been on life support since President Biden’s first day in office and had been stalled by legal battles for years before that, despite support from the Trump administration.” (“The Keystone XL Pipeline Project Has Been Terminated,” The New York Times, 6/09/2021)

“President Joe Biden formally announced on [January 20^th] he was revoking a key permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the second time a Democratic administration has scuttled the $8 billion project in less than a decade. Biden’s action was part of a series of executive orders on his first day in office …” (“Biden Kills Keystone XL Permit, Again,” Politico, 1/20/2021)

• “Keystone XL’s developers laid off 1,000 workers immediately upon Mr. Biden’s move last week, and tens of thousands more could follow if oil companies can’t keep drilling on federal territory. Industry leaders also say the moves endanger progress on emissions, which have fallen dramatically in the U.S. in recent years …” (“Biden’s Climate-Change Policy Targets Oil Industry,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/26/2021)

During His First Week In Office, President Biden Issued A Moratorium On Oil And Natural Gas Exploration On Federal Lands

“The Biden administration announced [January 21^st] a … suspension of new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits for U.S. lands and waters, as officials moved quickly to reverse Trump administration policies on energy and the environment. The suspension, part of a broad review of programs at the Department of Interior, went into effect immediately under an order signed Wednesday by [the] Acting Interior Secretary … It follows Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to halt new drilling on federal lands and end the leasing of publicly owned energy reserves as part of his plan to address climate change.” (“Biden Halts Oil And Gas Leases, Permits On US Land And Water,” The Associated Press, 1/21/2021)

• “President Biden has long signaled his intention to curb oil-and-gas drilling on federal land as part of a sweeping effort to reduce U.S. emissions to combat climate change…. [In January] Mr. Biden signed executive orders to suspend new oil and gas leasing while the Interior Department reviews existing leases and permitting practices.” (“Biden’s Order to Freeze New Oil Drilling on Federal Land: What You Need to Know,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/27/2021)

• “Biden’s move could be the first step in an eventual goal to ban all leases and permits to drill on federal land.” (“Biden Halts Oil And Gas Leases, Permits On US Land And Water,” The Associated Press, 1/21/2021)

The Biden Administration Now Has A New Halt On Oil And Gas Leasing On Federal Lands After A Judge Blocked Their So-Called ‘Social Cost Of Carbon’ Metric From Being Used In Federal Oil And Gas Leasing

“The Biden administration has once again put a pause on new leases and permits for federal oil and gas drilling after a judge blocked the administration from using a metric that estimates the societal cost of carbon emissions. Earlier this month, US District Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana issued an injunction preventing the Biden administration from using what's known as the ‘social cost of carbon’ in decisions around oil and gas drilling on public land, or in rules governing fossil fuel emissions. The ruling has consequences for a range of Biden administration actions on climate change, but especially on the Interior Department's federal oil and gas leasing program. In an appeal filed by government attorneys on Saturday night, the Biden administration argued Cain's injunction necessitated a pause on all projects where the government was using a social-cost-of-carbon analysis in its decision-making.” (“Biden Administration Freezes New Oil And Gas Drilling Leases After Court Rules Against Key Climate Tool,” CNN, 2/21/2022)

Indeed, The Biden Administration Keeps Using Litigation Over The ‘Social Cost Of Carbon’ To Stall Oil And Gas Development As They Angle Increase The Estimated Cost In Order ‘To Use This Grossly Inflated Social Cost Estimate To Support Restrictions On Fossil Fuels’

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “[A] federal judge [in February] slapped down the Biden Administration’s inflated ‘social cost’ estimate for greenhouse gas emissions. The Administration’s estimate captured all of the potential harm from carbon emissions globally over three centuries—yes, centuries. They threw in everything from property damage to health harms and war. Biden officials were furious at the judge’s decision because they planned to use this grossly inflated social cost estimate to support restrictions on fossil fuels—from stricter fuel-economy rules to methane emissions curbs for oil and gas production. Now they can’t, so dozens of rule-makings are stalled. But here’s the kicker: The White House budget office says the injunction has caused it to halt permitting work on at least 18 wells on federal oil and gas leases in New Mexico and new lease sales. The White House is blaming the judge for what it was already doing or, rather, not doing. Interior has been slow-rolling oil and gas permits since Mr. Biden took office.” (Editorial, “Biden’s Fossil-Fuel Blockade,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/04/2022)

• THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EDITORIAL BOARD: “Progressives … want to use inflated social costs of carbon emissions to justify stringent regulation on carbon energy. Enter the Biden Administration, which last February adopted an Obama-era estimate of $51 per ton cost of CO2…. The Administration has used this inflated social cost to impose more onerous fuel-economy and energy efficiency standards. Agencies are also using it to conduct environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act for an Alaska liquefied natural gas project and mineral leases…. Progressives want the Administration to inflate its social cost estimates even more, perhaps to German levels of $800 a ton. The goal is to justify new rules on fossil fuels that raise costs for workers, consumers and businesses.” (Editorial, “Biden’s Cost-of-Carbon Inflation,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/14/2022)