Both Sides Spin Domestic Oil Production
With the U.S. blocking new purchases of Russian oil, the White House, Republicans and the oil industry are engaged in a disagreement over whether the administration has hampered domestic oil production on federal land or whether the industry is holding back. Both sides are spinning the facts.
The competing claims have erupted after nearly two years of rising gas prices and as the Russian invasion of Ukraine spotlighted the Russian oil the U.S. has imported for years. In 2021, Russia accounted for 7.9% of total U.S. petroleum imports.
U.S. domestic production is still recovering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the price of oil to plummet in early 2020, followed by a reduction in capital expenditures in the industry. Experts say there’s no short-term fix for increasing production or bringing down gas prices, despite political arguments that suggest otherwise.
In announcing the ban on new imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas U.S. companies to produce more. The U.S. oil and gas industry has “9,000 permits” on federal land, he said, that “they could be drilling right now” to increase production and lower prices.
