Quote:
Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy
Even if he hadn't cancelled the Keystone Pipeline, it wouldn't make a difference present day. The pipeline would still be under construction and it would be a few years before it was online and operational. But I agree that either way it just wasn't a good move, and it set the tone for his energy policies from day one.
On another note, I'm being told to keep a full tank of gas at all times. Our existing pipelines are targets for hackers. Remember last year when the Colonial Pipeline was hacked (I think it was the Russians) and it created gas shortages?
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Interestingly, the Keystone was only 2% done when canceled. So you are correct.
As to perceptions about current tone, the facts are what matter:
Federal data shows the Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year, far outpacing the Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,658.
This isn't political spin by them or me or anyone on this board. These are simply numbers.
Nearly 2,000 of the drilling permits were approved on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management's New Mexico office, followed by 843 in Wyoming, 285 in Montana and North Dakota, and 191 in Utah. In California, the Biden administration approved 187 permits — more than twice the 71 drilling permits Trump approved in that state in his first year.
And there are currently 9,173 approved oil drilling permits that have been approved but are going unused by the oil industry.
Meaning that the oil companies here at home could be going to town pumping out oil but are not doing so. But more production could lower prices and the profits that the oil companies are currently pocketing precisely because gas prices are high.
Even so, oil production in the U.S. in 2021 (Biden) was on par with 2020 production and exceeded yearly production from 2016-18 (Trump), data shows. Again, no spin and no politics. Numbers.
But why let the facts get in the way of a good story about the current administration killing oil production? Maybe the current administration wants to, but they sure haven't done so, which actually has led to angry press releases from environmental groups. So they've managed to anger both their own constituents and those of their political opponents.
But take heart, at least oil company execs probably are using all their newfound cash to buy expensive baseball cards and contribute to increased card prices, right? This last statement is pure speculation, of course. Maybe they prefer buying comic books and NFTs of cartoon gorillas more than cards!