Most of the time, its rented equipment. Developing a lease takes years and substantial effort to determine whether the underlying geology holds commercial quantities of oil and/or gas. The president suggested the onus is on the industry to start drilling. "While the cost to extract one barrel in Saudi Arabia is somewhere around $10 or $15, in West Texas it can be as high as $70," Gernot Wagner, an associate professor of environmental studies at New York University, told PolitiFact. According to Interior's figures, more than three-quarters of the offshore federal waters already under lease remain unused that's about 8 million acres where companies could drill new . It took us all of probably three to four years to consolidate enough acreage to start drilling to begin with, he said. The authors forecasted the future of oil and gas production on federal . 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Biden said that companies pumped more oil in the U.S. during his first year in office than during his predecessors first year and that we were on track for record oil production next year. Official govt docs expose Michelle Obamas 14 year history as a man., "Woody Harrelsons 60 seconds in the middle of his monologue was cut out of the edits released after the show., BREAKING Trump preps Marines to stop presidential coup.. Joe Biden: The oil industry has "9,000 permits to drill now. He worked in the oil and gas industry for five years and now teaches petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. But that location is just right up there, where the frack crew is.. But its not as simple as Biden made it seem, because there are some steps before companies begin production. In this case, we reached out to some of our original experts for the story, who told us Bidens overarching point remained valid, as were the caveats we mentioned in our original article. Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James, toldCNN Businessthat oil and gas companies do not want to drill more., They are under pressure from the financial community to pay more dividends, to do more share buybacks instead of the proverbial drill, baby, drill, which is the way they would have done things 10 years ago. Eric Gay/AP. If . ", "They are under pressure from the financial community to pay more dividends, to do more share buybacks instead of the proverbial 'drill, baby, drill,' which is the way they would have done things 10 years ago. Back in March, as Russias invasion of Ukraine was sending the price of oil sky-high, President Joe Biden noted that the oil and natural gas industry has 9,000 permits to drill that it isnt using. Production peaked at 13 million barrels a day under the Trump administration. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an economist and president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank, said firms are trying to assess the durability of the global rebound. Then Biden pivoted to point the finger at the industry: In the United States, 90% of onshore oil production takes place on land that isnt owned by the federal government. Sometimes there might not really even be producible oil and gas on a lease, Daigle said. A shale well, for example, could cost about $7 million to drill. The revenue reported includes the first year's rent of $1.50 per acre, a bonus bid of not less than $2 an acre, and an administrative fee. Shortages of steel pipe, sand and workers are cutting into potential oil production. Source: Bureau of Land Management data. Investors remain reluctant to invest in fossil fuels. 5 relinquished oil and gas leases. Experts also suggested that drilling domestically is more costly than drilling overseas, which could further deter oil companies in the U.S. from upping production. Its a slow process. Attorneys, and the ballot theft immediately ended. Bidens number is correct: There are 9,137 approved permits to drill on federal and Indian land, and the oil industry could use those permits and drill. Technically, theres some truth there because, indeed, increasing American oil and gas production will not help Ukraine today. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Biden said the oil industry has "9,000 permits to drill now. "There are 9,000 unused approved drilling permits," former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last March. Were just there as oversight.. rate fact-checks based on evidence available at the time. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Corporate strategy has fundamentally changed.". Before drilling can occur, the lease holder has to get a federal permit. . USd/gal. The average barrels of crude oil produced per day spiked during Trumps subsequent years, swelling to almost 12.3 million in 2019. They could be drilling right now, yesterday, last week, last year. He took me to a well in the middle of this patch of land that, up until a couple of months ago, was producing a good amount of oil. Those guys are tripping in and out to go in and try to latch on to that ESP and try to pull it out, Cohorn said. Thousands of unused permits are not uncommon in any presidential administration. 13 rejected oil and gas leases. In total, the oil industry now holds leases to more than 25 million acres of public lands . ", We asked federal officials for an updated figure for 2021, and Interior Department spokesperson Melissa Schwartz said the agency has "no way to capture that since the discrepancy was found at the end of last year. The DOI has delayed issuing a congressionally five-year plan for offshore drilling and is weighing a complete block on such leasing through 2028. Corporate strategy has fundamentally changed.. DeSantis first took office. All rights reserved. This is all private land, which is where 90% of the oil produced in the U.S. comes from. They have 9,000 to drill onshore that are already approved. So you get the mineral position leased, then you have to go to the surface owner and negotiate good terms and a good understanding of how youre going to use his surface and make him happy, so that you can come out here and start doing all the stuff that we have to do to get to and from our wells, Cohorn said. Are gas prices going up? Conclusion. - Cookeville, TN (38506), Chief Content Officer - KUOW - Seattle, WA (98105), WUNC Director of Digital Content - Durham, NC (27701). He said not only is labor in short supply, but steel pipe and other equipment are on back order for months. President Biden on Wednesday issued an executive order temporarily pausing federal oil and gas leases and setting in motion potentially longer-lasting restrictions on federal lands production of fo Biden said the oil industry has "9,000 permits to drill now. Before they could start drilling, they had to negotiate with the folks who own the land. Before coming to API, Kevin served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President in two different roles, and as Deputy Solicitor for Energy & Minerals at the U.S. Department of the Interior. We should be honest about the facts.. Gas Prices Despite attempts to portray the industry as stockpiling unused permits, "a greater share of federal leases by over 40% in . These are the facts. . Previously, he worked as a reporter for Axios, where he covered, Amy Sherman is a staff writer with PolitiFact based in South Florida. Now, for the second claim, about the usefulness of American energy to Ukraine. Why is fracking for natural gas important? Everything in yellow is acreage that we own and operate, he told me. They have 9,000 permits to drill now. They arent necessarily the same people who own the mineral rights. Suggests "108 FIFA registered players/coaches have died" because of COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, its been 242 days since the Department of the Interior allowed the five-year offshore leasing program to expire, and the administration held just one quarterly lease sale in 2022 after not holding any in 2021, as required by law. What are Alternatives to Make Fracking Less Impactful? EIN: 41-0953924. Here is the average price in each state. Oil, Biden Has Earned 11 Pinocchios From Fact-Checkers During Coronavirus Crisis, GOP Hawks Say the Only Thing Cut From the Pentagon Will Be 'Wokeness'. Ultimately, energy policies affect the energy investment climate. Those permits include those issued under Biden and those still active from Trumps administration and potentially before, said Josh Axelrod, of the National Resources Defense Council. Now, his own administration is acknowledging that's wrong. When a lease is acquired, companies pay a "significant financial investment," and, if they do not get the lease producing, the company must pay an additional "rent" on the lease "until and unless it begins producing." The Mineral Leasing Act prevents one company from "locking up" federal lease acreage that is unproductive. Before drilling can occur, the lease holder has to get a federal permit. Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We should be honest about the facts.". Companies have to contract rigs to drill the wells, and build a sufficient inventory of permits before rigs are contracted, said Jennifer Pett, a spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a trade group that represents oil and natural gas producers. All Rights Reserved. While the cost to extract one barrel in Saudi Arabia is somewhere around $10 or $15, in West Texas it can be as high as $70, Gernot Wagner, an associate professor of environmental studies at New York University, told PolitiFact. order signed by President Biden shortly after taking office did "direct the Department of the Interior to pause new oil and natural gas leasing on public lands and offshore waters, concurrent with a comprehensive review of the federal oil and gas program." . And is it Joe Bidens fault? ", Sen. Kyrsten Sinema "voted with the president 93% of the time. If you came to me and said, Mike, heres $100 million. he paused oil and gas leasing on federal lands and last fall . 1,867 pending oil and gas leases. However, the unused drilling leases represent a fraction of the active permits, many of which are being used by the private sector to produce oil and gas daily, industry groups said. a bipartisan bill with Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa to modernize the federal oil and gas program's outdated . Oil and gas companies can raise funds from investors by not drilling on leases with proven reserves, said Hugh Daigle, an associate professor at the University of Texas Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. Editors note, Feb. 28, 2023: This fact-check of President Joe Bidens statement in March 2022 was based on available data at the time from the Bureau of Land Management. A frack pit is basically a pond full of water thatll be used to help force oil out of the ground. Gas prices later reached record highsin June 2022, the average price for a gallon of gas in the United States hit $5 for the first time ever. The U.S. Energy Information Administration in January forecasted that U.S. oil production will average 12.4 million barrels per day during 2023, surpassing the record high for domestic crude oil production set in 2019. The White House did not return a request for comment. The Biden Administration violated Congressional statute by halting all federal oil and gas lease sales - onshore and offshore - and is thereby laying the groundwork for a decline in federal production over time. The BLM's current lease sales and NEPA process have included a 30-day scoping period, 30 . Nearly three quarters of all active . 2023 World Oil, 2023 Gulf Publishing Company LLC. They have 9,000 to drill onshore that are already approved. CEO of Alaska Oil & Gas Association Kara Moriarty joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss the implications of canceling the project and why it would hurt the locals most. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Jen Psaki vs. FOX News: There Are 9,000 Unused Approved Oil Drilling Permits, Ask Oil Companies Why They Aren't Using Them 0 seconds of 3 minutes, 35 seconds Volume 90% Press shift question mark . Market data provided by Factset. AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File. Bidens number is correct: There are 9,137 approved permits to drill on federal and Indian land, and the oil industry could use those permits and drill. And is it Joe Bidens fault? The revelation comes as a blow to Biden as he attempts to defend himself from Republican critics, who argue that the Democrat is "attacking American energy" and raising gas prices by slowing fossil fuel production. Is that True? "Producers also have to put a drilling plan together, secure rights of way and work with state and private landowners," Pett said. Oil and gas companies are currently sitting on 23 million acres of unused federal leases, an area roughly the size of Indiana. Photo of electric charging station powered by diesel generator is emblematic of the electric vehicle movement. The Biden administration quietly updated a federal database that shows how many unused oil and gas drilling permits that it has approved, reducing the number by more than 2,000.. Companies dont have to immediately begin drilling as their leases last 10 years and can be extended beyond that. Biden said that companies pumped more oil in the U.S. during his first year in office than during his predecessors first year and that we were on track for record oil production next year. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revised the current number of approved applications for permits to drill (APD) which oil and gas companies are required to file once they identify a deposit on a lease that can . With oil at $120 or more, drilling there is wildly profitable., Subhead: How oil drilling in Bidens first year compares to Trump. Labor is in such short supply in the region that stories like this are common, Cohorn said. At the end of 2021, there were 9,173 approved and available permits to drill on federal and Indian lands. Specifically, they impact the ability of producers typically accountable to shareholders to take the risks involved in spending billions of dollars to find and develop oil and gas. Its simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production, Biden said March 8 in a speech announcing a U.S. ban on Russian oil imports. 727-821-9494, The oil industry has "9,000 permits to drill now. some 40% of the mineral acreage leased by companies goes unused . The top five holders of unused leases on federal lands include EOG . Corporate strategy has fundamentally changed.". Revenues are split between the state where the drilling occurs and the U.S. Treasury. In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. The Democrat went on to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline and implement a moratorium on new gas leases within days of taking office. Those permits include those issued under . Then again, do Fox News viewers care? Above, drilling rigs sit unused in Odessa, Texas. Fox Business spoke with energy industry leaders and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) about the Biden White House's claim that 9,000 oil and natural gas drilling leases sit unused. Those companieswhich determine their drilling plans more than a year in advancehave also faced labor shortages under Biden, with the oil industry comprising roughly 12,400 fewer workers last year than it did prior to the coronavirus pandemic. With oil at $120 or more, drilling there is wildly profitable.". They could be drilling right now, yesterday, last week, last year. From cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline, to refusing to hold Federal leases sales, to threatening to refuse to . Before drilling can occur, the leaseholder has to get a federal permit. And the bottom line is, if people like Mike Oestmann and Patrick Cohorn could drill more, they would. ", "Almost every study now has said with these new boosters, you're more likely to get infected with the bivalent booster. 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