Althouse: "You won’t hear President Biden talking about it much, but a key record has been broken during his watch."

December 31, 2023

"You won’t hear President Biden talking about it much, but a key record has been broken during his watch."

"The United States is producing more oil than any country ever has. The flow of huge amounts of crude from American producers is playing a big role in keeping prices down at the pump, diminishing the geopolitical power of OPEC, and taming inflation.... 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. Many of those voters want to hear that Biden is doing everything in his power to keep oil in the ground.... Trump recently told Fox News’s Sean Hannity that he would act as a dictator only on the first day of his presidency in 2025, in part because he wanted to 'drill, drill, drill' for more oil. The former president has constantly attacked Biden’s clean energy agenda and accused him of squandering America’s prior 'energy independence' because of allegiance to 'environmental lunatics.'"

WaPo reports.

65 comments:

BG said...: And if a Democrat wins the 2024 presidential election, will the spigots be turned off the day after? (Again?); 12/31/23, 3:01 PM
n.n said...: Progressive prices, regulations, and energy deficits have forced producers to compensate for capital losses through excessive supply.; 12/31/23, 3:03 PM
Leland said...: Primarily because it happened using private lands which Biden has little control over. Also, if Biden decided to say something, then all anyone needs ask is why then did he drain the Strategic Petroleum Reserves by half? Finally, it's not like the record was hurdled by a huge margin. Production is slightly higher than it was in December 2019, the previous record peak, so yeah 4 years since the last peak. Any guess on how much more energy we need today than 4 years ago?; 12/31/23, 3:05 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: "The United States is producing more oil than any country ever has."

Nobody feels a thing, though.; 12/31/23, 3:06 PM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: “ The flow of huge amounts of crude from American producers is playing a big role in keeping prices down at the pump, “

Well, that would explain why the prices rocketed up when Biden was installed.

Serious question for our Prog friends. Do you actually believe these Orwellian contortions, or do you just figure it isn’t important because of abortion or OMB or whatever?; 12/31/23, 3:12 PM
rehajm said...: Before reacting I need to come to an agreement on the WaPo working definitions of oil, producing and United States…; 12/31/23, 3:12 PM
MadTownGuy said...: "The United States is producing more oil than any country ever has. The flow of huge amounts of crude from American producers is playing a big role in keeping prices down at the pump, diminishing the geopolitical power of OPEC, and taming inflation...."

Is he restocking the Strategic Oil Reserve? Or is he kicking the oil can down the road?; 12/31/23, 3:15 PM
Clyde said...: I'm not sure whether the WaPo is a credible source. Even if the stats quoted in their article are true, has the increase occurred because of Biden's policies or in spite of them? I would guess the latter.; 12/31/23, 3:17 PM
JAORE said...: Good news. But what would the output be without Biden?

Russia, Iran and others would not be happy.; 12/31/23, 3:19 PM
MountainMan said...: Trump is correct. This record also does not surprise me. A lot of brilliant scientists snd engineers in our oil and gas industry.; 12/31/23, 3:22 PM
madAsHell said...: The price at the fuel pump tells me this story is complete bullshit!!!; 12/31/23, 3:22 PM
Jaq said...: The graph of annual production showed a decided upward curve under Trump until the pandemic, and after the pandemic, Biden kept his foot on the neck of the producers, even warning those in the financial industry not to take advantage of conditions, when the sanctions against Russia came out, so no financing to enable long-term increases in production. Now, after being flat lined for three years under Biden, production finally starts creeping upwards again over what it was under Trump, and suddenly oil production increases are a good thing.

The first day he took office, Biden killed Keystone XL. He also killed the Twin Metals Mine, if you think that he is all for the resources to build electric cars. And then a few months later, he wrote a letter to Ukraine that provoked a war with one of the largest oil producers in the world. So he now has had to react once again, to his earlier stupid decisions, and lift the lid a little bit on oil production, to get re-elected, despite any promises he has made to the green left.

Joe Biden is a narcissist The thing about narcissists is that all they care about on any issue is how it affects them personally. His narcissism is only a symptom, though, of the fact that he is a sociopath.; 12/31/23, 3:24 PM
mikee said...: This production is happening despite the Biden Administration's hatred of fossil fuels, except that their hatred of fossil fuels is overwhelmed by their instinct for self preservation at the polls. If oil companies had not managed this price cutting production level, even with the government opposition to their continued existence, Biden would have an even bigger problem than environmentalists being upset about continued oil production.

I note that gas price in Round Rock, TX, today is $2.49 or so, still well above 2020 prices.; 12/31/23, 3:31 PM
tim maguire said...: The fact that the US is producing more oil than ever means very little. What matters is how much oil it produces relative to its needs. WaPo, in full “save the president” mode, is doing what it needs to do to make Biden sound like a competent president.; 12/31/23, 3:43 PM
Joe Smith said...: "...in part because he wanted to 'drill, drill, drill'..."

Funny enough, this was Bill Clinton's goal as well...; 12/31/23, 3:44 PM
Jaq said...: One wonders what Canada would say about us kneecapping their oil industry while expanding our own, if they were an actual sovereign country, and not one more vassal of the United States.; 12/31/23, 3:48 PM
robother said...: Of course, this could be a "pump it while you can" strategy by the oil companies. The longer term question is, is anyone exploring new oilfields or investing in new refining capacity in the USA?; 12/31/23, 3:52 PM
Kakistocracy said...: No entity, however powerful, can control, dictate or maintain the oil price at any particular level. Oil prices are what they are — neither low nor high. There are so many supply side and demand side variables and so much volatility that value judgments are almost entirely meaningless.; 12/31/23, 4:08 PM
Jupiter said...: Environmental lunatics. Hmmm.; 12/31/23, 4:09 PM
Kevin said...: When Obama faced these things he’d fall back on “nuance” and “dog whistles” to silence his detractors.; 12/31/23, 4:12 PM
Yancey Ward said...: This has happened despite Biden's efforts to suppress oil production.; 12/31/23, 4:13 PM
lonejustice said...: Gas is $2.74 a gallon where I live. I'm not complaining.; 12/31/23, 4:21 PM
Another old lawyer said...: This would explain the decrease in prices at the pump in the last weeks. Excuse me if I think it's only been allowed by Biden because of the upcoming 2024 election and his unfavorable poll numbers.; 12/31/23, 4:23 PM
n.n said...: The Slavic Spring, sabotage of gas supply, has created an exporters' opportunity in the broken window model.; 12/31/23, 4:25 PM
n.n said...: This has happened despite Biden's efforts to suppress oil production

Overproduction and capital waste to remain viable in a Green blight and subsidized Spring. We live in Orwellian... interesting times.; 12/31/23, 4:32 PM
Jaq said...: The last time the US got so worked up about using an article of faith as evidence was the Scopes Monkey Trial. I think that Copernicus got into trouble too where the unsubstantiated beliefs of his political enemies were used as evidence against him.; 12/31/23, 4:32 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: what a pant load.
Biden depleted our reserves...
Now that the election is nearing - the media dutifully give that crook credit he does not deserve.; 12/31/23, 4:33 PM
Robert Cook said...: "And if a Democrat wins the 2024 presidential election, will the spigots be turned off the day after? (Again?)"

By "again," do you mean like Trump did?

And here?; 12/31/23, 4:36 PM
Howard said...: Misery, agita and endlessly complaining is so popular because it is stimulated by both success and failure.; 12/31/23, 4:37 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I just got back from whole foods. While waiting in the self=check out line, I saw some glossy magazines. One was TIME - and at the top of the cover of TIME are photos of Taylor Swift and Joe Biden.

There you go dumb Americans - if you love Taylor Swift, you should love Biden with the same emotional response.

It's almost 2024 - and we all know what that means. The past 3 years of pure hell will be washed clean by the NBC-hack press. So they can drag old carcass crook husk-puppet Joe over the finish line again.; 12/31/23, 4:47 PM
JK Brown said...: Well, the very young people are coming out for Biden because it means they get to eat the "junky" chips. Inflation is not all bad apparently

https://youtu.be/qtB1EQ6MtY0; 12/31/23, 4:50 PM
Xmas said...: Oil production is way up.

Refinery capacity peaked in 2019 and remain lower than the peak. So pricing for refined products like gasoline, diesel, and home heating oil stay elevated.

During the pandemic, a few refineries shut down completely, either to be fully decommissioned or to be converted to biodiesel production.; 12/31/23, 4:53 PM
William50 said...: "You won’t hear President Biden talking about it much, but a key record has been broken during his watch."

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.; 12/31/23, 4:54 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: 3:43 - what Tim Maguire said.; 12/31/23, 4:56 PM
rcocean said...: Us Petroleum Reserve Jan 21 - 639 million barrels
Us pertroleum Reserve Today - 348 million barrels

As a result of his anti-fracking, anti-drilling, anti-oil production policies Biden drove US Oil Production from its peak in Oct 2019 at 12805 barrels per day to 11,258 in Feb 2022. Its not until July 23 that we recovered and got back to October 2019 levels.

Biden made in clear in 2020, that he hates the Oil industry and the Coal Industry. If he's keeping oil price low, its only because he wants to get re-elected. Will the morons understand that $5/galleon gas is the future if Biden is re-elected?

BTW, has Genocide Joe ever expressed concern about the massive inflation in food prices? Does he have a plan to bring the costs down? Not that I'm aware of. I know the poor don't care, they have SNAP. And the rich don't care, they can afford it. But what about the working class? A good steak in my area used to cost $13/lbs. Now it costs $21/lbs. Insane!; 12/31/23, 5:00 PM
Mason G said...: "The flow of huge amounts of crude from American producers is playing a big role in keeping prices down at the pump..."

Gas is more than 50% higher today than it was when Brandon was inaugurated. I would suggest that "keeping prices down" is a rather dishonest way of describing things.; 12/31/23, 5:12 PM
readering said...: US also restocking Strategic Petroleum Reserve through February at lower prices than it had made sales.; 12/31/23, 5:26 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield in March 2023: U.S. won’t reach a new record in oil production ‘ever again.’
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/09/us-wont-reach-new-record-oil-production-ever-again-pioneer-ceo.html

Great call!

The US is now producing more oil than any country in history just as Opec+ countries curb supply in a bid to tighten supplies and bolster prices. The growth in American crude production comes in spite of a more cautious approach to drilling being imposed by Wall Street on publicly listed companies. You would be surprised how many Americans are unaware of what the US has done to the global oil market the past 15 years. It is so hard to get Americans to understand that things can change, and do change, and have changed, and that the US is actually quite good at being on the upside of those things. We have not been on the wrong side of the oil market since 2008. You have to like that.; 12/31/23, 5:33 PM
planetgeo said...: This is the "electionetics" stage of "Bidenomics".; 12/31/23, 5:38 PM
Jaq said...: Oil Production by year, US

Look what happened when Biden took office, and finally it breaks Trump's record by a tiny amount. It wasn't until Biden's long planned war with Russia came to fruition that US production began to rise.

Here are the GDP growth figures for Germany for the last four quarters, after the US destroyed their source of cheap natural gas:

-0.4
0.0
0.1
-0.1

Recession in Europe is why demand for oil has dropped. Germany won't have a new election because the ruling coalition knows that they will *all* be thrown out in favor of an antiwar party if they have an election. Usually, coalitions fall apart when one party to it thinks that they can improve their electoral position by pulling out. In this case, the coalition running Germany is facing a "Hang together or hang separately" moment.

Of course they are trying to outlaw the party, the AfD, that is outpolling all of them and is now the largest party in Germany, according to the polls, "to protect democracy."; 12/31/23, 5:39 PM
Leland said...: The former president has constantly attacked Biden’s clean energy agenda and accused him of squandering America’s prior 'energy independence' because of allegiance to 'environmental lunatics.

Here's a key point; despite the record production, the USA is no longer 'energy independent'.

Nobody feels a thing, though.

Because increased production isn't keeping up with increased demand.; 12/31/23, 5:41 PM
JK Brown said...: The US refining capability is designed for heavy sour crude that was common and is imported. The light sweet of the increased US production can't be refined in mass in the US, it is exported. Still impacts the price of oil, but the US is not now as "independent" as they extol. I believe new refiners are in development that can use the North American production, but right now, they are shipping it by train to an export port.; 12/31/23, 6:00 PM
Aggie said...: The WaPo reaches new levels of stupidity, imagining that anyone would believe any of this. The same Crazy Uncle Joe that's trying to shut down new offshore leases, only to be turned around by the courts? The same C.U.J. that tried to renege on leases on the North Slope, and was turned around by the courts? The same C.U.J. with an Energy Secretary that dances to a Hip Hop video called 'Leave it in the ground'?, and then proceeds to regulate the sh*t out of water heaters, and then, dishwashers, and then organizes a (disastrous) electric vehicle tour? The same Administration that has tried to kill off the gas stove? Or killed already-approved new pipelines on Day 1? Or who drained down the SPR to levels pre-dating the 1980's, when they were first completed, causing unknown and irreversible damage to the infrastructure? The same Administration that has been advocating no new internal combustion engines after mid-century?

Sure. Crazy Uncle Joe is a big friend of Big Oil. Sure.; 12/31/23, 6:03 PM
Mason G said...: "Because increased production isn't keeping up with increased demand."

I hear green, renewable energy will take care of this. Any. Day. Now.

And, as a plus, it's cheaper than fossil fuels. Or so I'm told.; 12/31/23, 6:09 PM
Joe Smith said...: "The department said it bought the oil, for delivery in February, for an average of $74.23 a barrel, below the average of $95 a barrel that oil sold for in 2022."

--Reuters

"Earlier this month, IER posted a blog that said the Department of Energy (DOE) sold China almost 1 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The real number is almost 6 million barrels of which 4 million barrels were sold to China in November 2021—before the Russian invasion of Ukraine—and at a discount to oil sold on the market. In the November sale, oil was sold on average for $63 per barrel, or over eight dollars less than the average price of oil per barrel that month."

So he sells it to Chyna! for $63 and buys it back for almost $75.

Fucking genius...he probably made it up in volume...; 12/31/23, 6:16 PM
Jim at said...: Prices down at the pump? Paid $3.89 the other day. That's a buck and a half more than when Trump was POTUS.

I suppose I should consider myself fortunate I'm no longer paying $5.19 like I was last summer. So, yay! Prices 'down.'; 12/31/23, 6:27 PM
rsbsail said...: Biden has done everything he could to stop oil production. Fortunately, all of the increase is from private lands that that idiot has no control over. The question is how much higher would the production be if he actually allowed exploration on government leases?; 12/31/23, 6:45 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: 12.76 billion barrels of oil produced in the USA during 2023--a new record! Well whoopty do. That sounds good doesn't it. Old Slow Joe has brought in record production.

Just one problem--all that joy leaves out the demand side of the equation. For at least the least the last 25 years. US annual oil consumption has been at or near 20 billion barrels a day. We may consume a wee bit less than that this year, but it still leaves a 6 or 7 billion barrel shortfall--which we have to "fix" with imported oil

Contrast that with the 1930s and 1940s when the US not only produced enough oil to satisfy domestic demand, it also produced the oil that fueled the Allies armies and Navys and also had enough left over to help out Uncle "Joe"--Stalin that is.

In fact production of oil in the USA so far exceeded demand that the Texas Railroad Commission issued proration orders limiting the amount of oil that could be produced. Thos proration orders continued until about 1967.; 12/31/23, 7:08 PM
Gospace said...: On my phone so I’m not going to copy/paste.

But in answer to robother, yes companies are exploring new oil fields. I know this because just before opening Althouse I had a targeted Facebook ad pleading for money to fight proposed exploration for oil in one of those places no one actually visits (like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) because it would destroy the natural beauty that no one ever visits to look at, and besides, oil is BAD! I added my comment:”No, not today. Not ever.” Seems all the immediately visible comments said the same thing in different ways. Some far less politely.

I’d tell you exactly where and what the group was- but I already closed the tab and Facebook isn’t repeating it for me.; 12/31/23, 7:14 PM
Wince said...: "You won’t hear President Biden talking about it much, but a key record has been broken during his watch."

Moreover, doesn't this very kind of effort at public deception form the gravamen of state AG lawsuits against Big Oil for "climate change"?

The complaint alleges that all defendants committed unlawful acts by, among other things, deceiving the public about climate change and affirmatively promoting the use of fossil fuels while knowing that fossil fuels would lead to devastating consequences to the climate, including in California.; 12/31/23, 7:42 PM
walter said...: Jamming up ICE cars will bring down gas prices...perhaps.
Well..it will jack prices of used ICE cars.; 12/31/23, 7:43 PM
Quaestor said...: WaPo is not to be trusted.; 12/31/23, 7:49 PM
Josephbleau said...: "No entity, however powerful, can control, dictate or maintain the oil price at any particular level. Oil prices are what they are — neither low nor high. There are so many supply side and demand side variables and so much volatility that value judgments are almost entirely meaningless."

Complete disinformation. Economics does not apply to petroleum? Petroleum production is controlled by random variables? The Arabs in '73 and the directional drilling tech of the '90s show that oil production depends on producer motives and national interest, technology, and return on capital employed. The main large scale effect is that, since there are so many producers, someone is always willing to sell low when the demand is low. The industry knows exactly what to do to make money, as is it's duty to stockholders.; 12/31/23, 8:18 PM
Creola Soul said...: Because it happened in spite of his Administration’s efforts to stop it. It’s happening on private land, where Biden can’t stop it.; 12/31/23, 9:13 PM
Chuck said...: Of all of the fantastically noxious TrumpWing lies, one of my personal favorites is, “Joe Biden shut down oil production when we were energy independent.”

Oil production crashed during the pandemic, because of the pandemic.

Gasoline prices below $2.00 in the U.S. were due purely to cratered demand in the pandemic. Not some production miracle.

The spike in gasoline prices after Putin invaded Ukraine was due to - wait for it - the world spot price adjusting to the Russia disruption.

And now we see, with the benefit of time, what a lie it is to contend that “Biden shut down oil;” we are at peak oil production in U.S. history.

But that’s not all. You deplorable TrumpWing dumbfucks don’t even get the import of Althouse’s blog post. She’s (rightly) taking it at face value that U.S. oil production is at undeniably record levels. Her interest was in the notion that Biden couldn’t or wouldn’t take rightful credit for that undeniable fact because of the Green Energy base within the Democratic Party base.

Oh well. I know I don’t care. I’m loving gas prices starting with “$2…” And this allows me to go back to my non-crazy Republican friends here in Michigan and sell them on what used to be inconceivable to them; a vote for Biden. That’s all I care about. A 2024 win, picking off a critical mass of Michigan Republicans just like the last presidential. Whatever it takes, to beat Trump. Again.

I don’t care what you incorrigible fucked up TrumpWingers think. There weren’t enough of you in 2020 and after this summer, there won’t be enough of you in 2024.; 12/31/23, 9:22 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: "You won’t hear President Biden talking about it much, but a key record has been broken during his watch."

He's not talking about it because he had nothing to do with it. His administration actually opposed it.; 12/31/23, 9:26 PM
Josephbleau said...: "When Obama faced these things he’d fall back on “nuance” and “dog whistles” to silence his detractors."

President Obama, noted expert, said that we can't drill our way out of a lack of oil. Pure genius.; 12/31/23, 10:03 PM
gadfly said...: The problem is that "young climate-conscious" folks have been misled by the so-called scientists and engineers who are sucking the government dry of money for personal benefits. There are no answers as to how we can run our modern world without oil, natural gas, and coal for centuries to come - simply because these natural sources allow our complex economy to run. Machinery requires lubrication in monstrous quantities, and heating/cooling requires extensive, reliable energy sources. Nothing has been proposed to replace these sources economically in the short term.

Chasing non-existent CO2 problems and building electric vehicles using rubber tires and oil lube to allow the vehicles to move are examples of non-answers. Remember when driverless vehicles would fix the world? Of course, hydrogen will fix everything when and if we can extract energy without the danger of explosions. And our farmers will go bankrupt if we cannot continue to inefficiently turn corn into (gasp) burnable ethanol. And fuck those concerns about killing birds, fish, and possibly humans using "renewable" sources, just as long as we continue to protect snail-darters.; 1/1/24, 3:45 AM
typingtalker said...: Something is wrong here ...

1. CO2 induced Global Warming is an existential problem -- or so they say.
2. Drill, Drill, Drill for hydrocarbons -- is going on now
3. Twelve U.S. nuclear power reactors have permanently closed since February 2013, following a 14-year period without any shutdowns. The most recent reactor retirement was Indian Point on April 30, 2021. The plant’s owner, Entergy, cited low electricity prices driven by low-cost natural gas generation and increased operating costs as major reasons. Another seven U.S. reactor retirements have been announced through 2025.

crs reports

I would say that the monkeys are in charge, but that would be an unfair insult to the monkeys.; 1/1/24, 6:00 AM
boatbuilder said...: What the fools don't recognize is that whatever the price of, or quantity of oil produced in the US, the oil that exists and can be exploited globally can and will be produced and used, somewhere, by someone.

Thus all of the domestic restrictions and controls simply make the exploitation and sale of oil more profitable globally--meaning that it is going to get used sooner rather than later.

So the net effect on "global" CO2 is essentially zero.; 1/1/24, 7:36 AM
Stick said...: I say again:
Due to Trump & fracking, the supply of oil & gas shot up so much it collapsed prices making natural gas economically feasible to replace coal in power generation.
In addition to becoming a net exporter of petroleum, the US reduced CO2 emissions more than any of the signatories to the Paris Accords.

p.s. CO2 is not a pollutant regardless of what SCOTUS says.; 1/1/24, 8:11 AM
Rusty said...: "Where ever there is a market, that market will be filled."
Biden isn't allowing this to happen. In fact he worked very hard to keep this from happening. The oil is going to come out of the ground regardless. Those contracts have to be met.; 1/1/24, 9:10 AM
holdfast said...: That’s great and all, but what about in the future? What happens to future production when we don’t have the necessary exploration leases to allow that future production?; 1/1/24, 9:39 AM
Joe Smith said...: The climate hoax is bullshit in any case.

The biggest money-laundering scam in the history of the world, and it's not even close.; 1/1/24, 11:11 AM
Rusty said...: holdfast said...
"That’s great and all, but what about in the future? What happens to future production when we don’t have the necessary exploration leases to allow that future production?"
The leases are there. The lease holders are just not allowed to exploit them. No new leases either. No new pipelines.
The environmentalists would have you believe that crude oil is a pollutant. It occurs naturally. Most spills, if they're large enough, can be reovered and processed.; 1/2/24, 8:29 AM