Oil

[Matt_Crimson]

*Walks in*

*Sees Stewy's response*

Alright, well looks like he won the thread.

*Leaves*

[GMDino]

(03-03-2022, 02:04 PM)Stewy Wrote: Happy to discuss further.

(I only deleted the quote to save space.)

Thanks for insider and expert analysis.

Things do get over simplified when it comes to social media.  

I'm still leaning toward my original point which was: We don't keep all our own oil, and I'll add there is little to nothing any POTUS can do to directly lower prices.

[Rotobeast]

(03-03-2022, 02:04 PM)Stewy Wrote: As most of you know I am a 31 year veteran of the O&G industry, as a Prospect Generator and Senior Petroleum Geoscientist.....basically I find oil and gas.  However, I am also a student of the industry watching trends, and have been following fluctuations in Oil prices and gas prices and the ups and downs for my entire time in the industry.

Thank you for your insight and adjusting my impression of how much releasing federal reserves impact pricing.

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-03-2022, 01:18 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: For what it's worth... in the end of December I was in New Orleans and spoke with a couple of different people who worked at refineries that told me that the market was being manipulated by their companies to recoup profits that were lost during the pandemic. Take it as hearsay, but that is what was relayed to me. I do criticize Biden for not opening up reserves sooner. I think doing so would have stimulated the economy and slowed the price increase of many good/services.

That’s pretty much what the earnings reports said when I looked in to multiple major oil companies profits from last year. Major losses in 2020. Stock buybacks and dividend increases to go along with record profits for some in 2021.

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 02:30 PM)basballguy Wrote: Stewy What’s the ISBN for the novel you just wrote?

Welcome to getting me involved in O&G or geoscience discussions.

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 04:01 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: That’s pretty much what the earnings reports said when I looked in to multiple major oil companies profits from last year. Major losses in 2020. Stock buybacks and dividend increases to go along with record profits for some in 2021.

Yep.  It's up and down and it's risky.  Much riskier than other ventures like manufacturing, farming or literally any other "normal" industry.  So you risk a lot and it can pay dividends, literally.  

But in my business we have no unions.  We are a performance industry.  Find oil and gas or go home. Also the job market can be ruthless.  1/3 of our entire technical staff across the entire industry got laid off in 2014-2016.  I was out of work for 15 months.  So why do I do it?  I love geoscience.  I'm one of the 5-10 people in the world at what I do, and all I'll say is, I make good money.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

First off, congrats to Stewy, both for the very in depth and informative post, but also the complete destruction of the premise of this thread.
As you state, oil is a commodity like any other, and thus subject to the vagaries of the market. Where Biden has put us in a bind is suspension of projects already in development (keystone for example) and halting permits for many others. As a commodity, oil is subject to speculation. When the leader of the world's largest producer literally states he's going to curtail production that alone is enough to drive the price of oil up. How do we know that Biden made a huge blunder and is now paying the price? Because he's already begging others to increase production, something he would not have had to do if he'd refused to play politics with our sources of energy.

We all know that gas prices jump instantly and decrease slowly, that certainly can't be controlled by the POTUS. But the POTUS can, and in this case did, influence the market with their decisions regarding the O&G industry. I just paid $5.60 a gallon this morning. If I was in my twenties, when I often had to calculate just how much I could use my car until my next paycheck because I couldn't afford to fill my tank on a whim, the current gas prices would be absolutely crippling. I can only imagine how much it's affecting low income families.

Biden created this mess, and now he refuses to own it. Russia acting as they are is simply the biggest example, among many, of why the US needs to be energy independent, as well as being able to supply our allies in situations such as we are currently facing. Invest in green energy at the same time, great, but don't curtail production until the green energy can compensate for the subsequent shortfall your creating.

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 03:08 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: Thank you for your insight and adjusting my impression of how much releasing federal reserves impact pricing.

You're welcome.  But the POTUS does things like that because most people don't know it's pointless.  Hell the POTUS and his advisors may not even know it's pointless.  If they really understood our industry and understood that one cannot force a switch to renewables over night, and that we need a real transition to Natural Gas First and then to Nuclear and true renewables, then I would believe they know what they're doing. Alas....no.

Some think our industry can be forced toward renewables, but not supporting it and not allowing more drilling, etc.  But what we are doing is limiting production during a time when renewables CANNOT cover the gap.  Thus commodities get limited, prices go up and that gets passed on to the consumer.  The last people to blame for high prices are the Oil and Gas Industry.  We're just trying to make a buck and provide a service that almost no one can live without.  The govt's of the world need to work WITH our industry, not blame it and try and kill it, because guess what????  The need for energy isn't going anywhere, and everyone wants cheap energy, but if you shaft the people who provide the energy, it's the little guys that cast those pesky votes every 2-4 years that pay the price in their pocket book.

On a side note:  Biden's complete lack of support for the O&G industry is a joke.  He has done everything he could to damage the industry since he took office.  Not providing lease, slowing down processes, slowing down projects and permits to drill and start up new production facilities.  Yet....yet....yet....the hypocrite keeps asking the industry to produce more oil.  "Here....dig this hole for me, but you get no shovel, no spade and not even a spoon.  It's really important and please do it, but you'll get no support from me."

Chevrons response to the latest POTUS request to increase production:
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevron-Biden-Can-Lower-High-Crude-Prices-If-He-Supports-US-Oil.html

Let's keep in mind that Oil Companies are becoming energy companies.  They want to survive past the transition and provide you're renewables, and you're energy and Big Oil becoming Big Energy is to everyone's benefit because we have the money to invest in a transition, and actually make it happen.  The largest investors in renewables in the last 24 months has been Big Energy, but regardless of political rhetoric one cannot transition over night.  Anyone who says it's easy or a switch flip is just plain ignorant of the realities of providing energy.  I could write another novel on this subject, but i don't think anyone wants it.  hehe

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-03-2022, 05:53 PM)Stewy Wrote: You're welcome.  But the POTUS does things like that because most people don't know it's pointless.  Hell the POTUS and his advisors may not even know it's pointless.  If they really understood our industry and understood that one cannot force a switch to renewables over night, and that we need a real transition to Natural Gas First and then to Nuclear and true renewables, then I would believe they know what they're doing. Alas....no.

Some think our industry can be forced toward renewables, but not supporting it and not allowing more drilling, etc.  But what we are doing is limiting production during a time when renewables CANNOT cover the gap.  Thus commodities get limited, prices go up and that gets passed on to the consumer.  The last people to blame for high prices are the Oil and Gas Industry.  We're just trying to make a buck and provide a service that almost no one can live without.  The govt's of the world need to work WITH our industry, not blame it and try and kill it, because guess what????  The need for energy isn't going anywhere, and everyone wants cheap energy, but if you shaft the people who provide the energy, it's the little guys that cast those pesky votes every 2-4 years that pay the price in their pocket book.

On a side note:  Biden's complete lack of support for the O&G industry is a joke.  He has done everything he could to damage the industry since he took office.  Not providing lease, slowing down processes, slowing down projects and permits to drill and start up new production facilities.  Yet....yet....yet....the hypocrite keeps asking the industry to produce more oil.  "Here....dig this hole for me, but you get no shovel, no spade and not even a spoon.  It's really important and please do it, but you'll get no support from me."

Chevrons response to the latest POTUS request to increase production:
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevron-Biden-Can-Lower-High-Crude-Prices-If-He-Supports-US-Oil.html

Let's keep in mind that Oil Companies are becoming energy companies.  They want to survive past the transition and provide you're renewables, and you're energy and Big Oil becoming Big Energy is to everyone's benefit because we have the money to invest in a transition, and actually make it happen.  The largest investors in renewables in the last 24 months has been Big Energy, but regardless of political rhetoric one cannot transition over night.  Anyone who says it's easy or a switch flip is just plain ignorant of the realities of providing energy.  I could write another novel on this subject, but i don't think anyone wants it.  hehe

Riddle me this?

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/biden-administration-pausing-new-oil-and-gas-leases-amid-legal-battle-.html

“Biden has approved more drilling permits on public lands per month than the Trump administration did during Donald Trump's first three years in office.”

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 02:59 PM)GMDino Wrote: (I only deleted the quote to save space.)

Thanks for insider and expert analysis.

Things do get over simplified when it comes to social media.  

I'm still leaning toward my original point which was: We don't keep all our own oil, and I'll add there is little to nothing any POTUS can do to directly lower prices.

You're welcome.

Making a stink about the fact that we export our oil is pointless and misses the mark.  And, as I hope I showed, has nothing to do with past current or future oil prices, which was a large portion of his point.  He wants to blame republicans, when literally the controls on oil prices are far too multi pronged to say any one thing is the reason.  I will say that we should tax exports.  Seems kind of silly that we don't, so I'll give him that one point.

You can blame Biden for being an idiot who doesn't understand how oil prices work, but he's in good company with the rest of his administration and frankly most of the world, but ours is a long term investment industry.  Even if ALL restraints were removed on producing out national oil and gas assets, and we could lease on any Federal Lands or waters, it would take 3-10 years to have an affect on the US oil output.  That is mostly because all of the low hanging fruit (easy to find and produce) has been found.  To find more O&G we have to go into more hostile (cold/North Slope Alaska or Chuckchi Sea - Arctic, etc) or even deeper waters.  This requires in many cases development of facilities and equipment that doesn't currently exist and must be innovated to support a project.  This can be very expensive and delay getting oil out of the ground.  

Example:  I am an expert in the Lower Tertiary Play in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico.  It has about 3.5 billion barrels that have been discovered, with only a small amount of that currently producing.  There is one portion of the deepwater basin that has reservoirs that sit at extreme depths with extreme pressures.  The pressures are so high in the reservoir, that equipment that can handle 20,000psi pressures at the well head (at the surface), essentially didn't exist until last year.  The first 20k field was discovered in 2009.  It took a huge industry consortium working together, spending hundreds of millions of dollars (no help from the govt) to develop the wellheads to work at those pressures at the surface and be safe.  They exist now, but it literally has only been in the last year, that these discovered fields could progress.

Summary:  Decisions now will not affect production tomorrow.

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 06:08 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Riddle me this?

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/biden-administration-pausing-new-oil-and-gas-leases-amid-legal-battle-.html

“Biden has approved more drilling permits on public lands per month than the Trump administration did during Donald Trump's first three years in office.”

Withholding permits on leases that companies have already required was not something he said he was going to do.  As a matter of fact the BOEM can't without drilling permits on currently leased acreage as it has an obligation, by federal law, to support the development of the nations resources.

And that quote makes no sense.  How can you compare and avg./month to a total over 3 years.  Might want to go check your quote because that makes no sense.  Or are they saying they are doing more permits/month and Trump did over the entire 3 years.  Or does it mean literally the BOEM is approving more per month than Trump did per month?  See why this is confusing?  

Ok so I just went and read it and the author just done F'd up that quote.  He posts no data, and makes a statement that makes no sense from a statistical point of view.  It's vague and frankly just incoherent and really has nothing to do with his own post.  Comparing permits /month to a total over 3 years with no data............ *shrugs*.  Sounds like another political hack trying to sound smart and failing.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(03-03-2022, 05:53 PM)Stewy Wrote: On a side note:  Biden's complete lack of support for the O&G industry is a joke.  He has done everything he could to damage the industry since he took office.  Not providing lease, slowing down processes, slowing down projects and permits to drill and start up new production facilities.  Yet....yet....yet....the hypocrite keeps asking the industry to produce more oil.  "Here....dig this hole for me, but you get no shovel, no spade and not even a spoon.  It's really important and please do it, but you'll get no support from me."

Chevrons response to the latest POTUS request to increase production:
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevron-Biden-Can-Lower-High-Crude-Prices-If-He-Supports-US-Oil.html

I hear what you're saying, but it's still not Biden's fault that oil prices are spiking, right?  I keep hearing that, repeated endlessly, so it's absolutely true.  Right?

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 06:28 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I hear what you're saying, but it's still not Biden's fault that oil prices are spiking, right?  I keep hearing that, repeated endlessly, so it's absolutely true.  Right?

I'm a geoscientist.  I never believe in absolutes, but I do have opinions backed by data and correlation.

i do agree that the current oil price situation is not the POTUS' fault nor is there anything he can really do IN THE SHORT TERM.  However, everything he is doing to make it better is either a bad look (begging OPEC to increase production, while hampering O&G production back home), pointless (releasing strategic reserves) or makes him look like an idiot (now asking the US Companies he's ignored and hampered to increase production).

On a side note, having oil prices this high is bad for everyone (except maybe OPEC).  It damages economies....makes people angry and increases their cost of living.  A good oil price that is a nice balance is 60-80$ per barrel.  High enough to keep the oil companies looking for more oil is exotic hard to reach places, but low enough to a medial energy cost for everyone.  110$ oil is bad for everyone.  What everyone would like, including the leaders of our industry is some stability, which history shows really doesn't exist in oil prices.

[masonbengals fan]

(03-03-2022, 05:53 PM)Stewy Wrote: You're welcome.  But the POTUS does things like that because most people don't know it's pointless.  Hell the POTUS and his advisors may not even know it's pointless.  If they really understood our industry and understood that one cannot force a switch to renewables over night, and that we need a real transition to Natural Gas First and then to Nuclear and true renewables, then I would believe they know what they're doing. Alas....no.

Some think our industry can be forced toward renewables, but not supporting it and not allowing more drilling, etc.  But what we are doing is limiting production during a time when renewables CANNOT cover the gap.  Thus commodities get limited, prices go up and that gets passed on to the consumer.  The last people to blame for high prices are the Oil and Gas Industry.  We're just trying to make a buck and provide a service that almost no one can live without.  The govt's of the world need to work WITH our industry, not blame it and try and kill it, because guess what????  The need for energy isn't going anywhere, and everyone wants cheap energy, but if you shaft the people who provide the energy, it's the little guys that cast those pesky votes every 2-4 years that pay the price in their pocket book.

On a side note:  Biden's complete lack of support for the O&G industry is a joke.  He has done everything he could to damage the industry since he took office.  Not providing lease, slowing down processes, slowing down projects and permits to drill and start up new production facilities.  Yet....yet....yet....the hypocrite keeps asking the industry to produce more oil.  "Here....dig this hole for me, but you get no shovel, no spade and not even a spoon.  It's really important and please do it, but you'll get no support from me."

Chevrons response to the latest POTUS request to increase production:
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevron-Biden-Can-Lower-High-Crude-Prices-If-He-Supports-US-Oil.html

Let's keep in mind that Oil Companies are becoming energy companies.  They want to survive past the transition and provide you're renewables, and you're energy and Big Oil becoming Big Energy is to everyone's benefit because we have the money to invest in a transition, and actually make it happen.  The largest investors in renewables in the last 24 months has been Big Energy, but regardless of political rhetoric one cannot transition over night.  Anyone who says it's easy or a switch flip is just plain ignorant of the realities of providing energy.  I could write another novel on this subject, but i don't think anyone wants it.  hehe

Thanks so much for your insightful analysis. 

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(03-03-2022, 06:39 PM)Stewy Wrote: I'm a geoscientist.  I never believe in absolutes, but I do have opinions backed by data and correlation.

i do agree that the current oil price situation is not the POTUS' fault nor is there anything he can really do IN THE SHORT TERM.  However, everything he is doing to make it better is either a bad look (begging OPEC to increase production, while hampering O&G production back home), pointless (releasing strategic reserves) or makes him look like an idiot (now asking the US Companies he's ignored and hampered to increase production).

On a side note, having oil prices this high is bad for everyone (except maybe OPEC).  It damages economies....makes people angry and increases their cost of living.  A good oil price that is a nice balance is 60-80$ per barrel.  High enough to keep the oil companies looking for more oil is exotic hard to reach places, but low enough to a medial energy cost for everyone.  110$ oil is bad for everyone.  What everyone would like, including the leaders of our industry is some stability, which history shows really doesn't exist in oil prices.

An excellent response to my obviously tongue in cheek post.  I always love having a subject matter expert on hand.  I can tell you first hand that many people will claim to know a lot about a profession and how it operates and then demonstrate absolutely zero knowledge of how it actually works.  My main point, and please tell me if I'm wrong, is that Biden's obvious hostility to the industry, and limiting their ability to operate, will drive speculators to raise the price of oil through their investment patterns, hence the higher prices we are seeing now.  Or at least that's a significant factor.

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 05:51 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Russia acting as they are is simply the biggest example, among many, of why the US needs to be energy independent, as well as being able to supply our allies in situations such as we are currently facing.  Invest in green energy at the same time, great, but don't curtail production until the green energy can compensate for the subsequent shortfall your creating.

I wanted to come back and quote this last part as absolute truth.  There is no instant fix.  Anyone who tells you different is lying or trying to sell you something or just plain doesn't know what they're talking about.

Renewables vs. Sustainability 
- Wind Power - what happens when the winds change and produce only 40% of the projected power for months on end?
- Hydro Power - what happens when there's a sustained drought for several years, and water levels drop so low in reservoirs that they can no longer let enough water flow to produce power?

These are both real issues.  One that has come to fruition in the UK (wind), and one that is on the verge of happening in US SW with the hydro damns that provide 30% of Los Angeles power critically low and soon are going to have to turn the power off.  If someone is talking about renewables without talking about sustainability, then they're trying to sell you swamp land in Florida.

Detailed Example:  UK ran into this problem already this winter.  They DICTATED to their power industry that they had to go 100% renewable.  Well they had a rare winter of low wind, and guess what, it got cold and the power went out all over the UK.  As a result they had to restart several of their coal burning (as dirty as it gets) power plants, to keep the power on and people warm.  This shows the reality of what we all will face, if the govt's and the O&G industry don't work together.  There needs to be and WILL be (because like UK reality will slap people in the face) is a smooth energy transition.  It needs to start with switching all of our coal and oil burning power generating plants to natural gas which is infinitely cleaner than coal or oil.  We need to embrace nuclear and massively invest in fusion.  We need to invest in our power grid, because it's already failing all over the country, and the more we switch to EV's, the more strain it's going to come under.  And in the end it's a helluva lot more complicated than this.  "Just Switching" is an absolute fallacy.

I'm not against any of this, but ignoring it and forcing a change that the power producers and the infrastructure are not ready for, and not by a long shot, will lead to disaster.

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 06:45 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: An excellent response to my obviously tongue in cheek post.  I always love having a subject matter expert on hand.  I can tell you first hand that many people will claim to know a lot about a profession and how it operates and then demonstrate absolutely zero knowledge of how it actually works.  My main point, and please tell me if I'm wrong, is that Biden's obvious hostility to the industry, and limiting their ability to operate, will drive speculators to raise the price of oil through their investment patterns, hence the higher prices we are seeing now.  Or at least that's a significant factor.

Bidens only been in office a year.  He has been no friend to the industry, but what he's doing will affect prices far further into the future.  He's not hampering production, but delaying finding new opportunities.

All oil fields come on strong producing a lot of their oil in the first 2-10 years (depending on geology and setting and a bunch of other stuff) and then severely declines.  The decline gets replaced by the next oil field find.  When the industry can't find new fields, production goes down in the future, not right now.  Different geology has different decline curves.  Figuring out what a fields decline curve will look like keeps petroleum engineers in business.  And if this persists, there is absolutely NOTHING that can be done in the short term to fix the problem.

https://www.eia.gov/analysis/drilling/curve_analysis/

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-03-2022, 06:23 PM)Stewy Wrote: Withholding permits on leases that companies have already required was not something he said he was going to do.  As a matter of fact the BOEM can't without drilling permits on currently leased acreage as it has an obligation, by federal law, to support the development of the nations resources.

And that quote makes no sense.  How can you compare and avg./month to a total over 3 years.  Might want to go check your quote because that makes no sense.  Or are they saying they are doing more permits/month and Trump did over the entire 3 years.  Or does it mean literally the BOEM is approving more per month than Trump did per month?  See why this is confusing?  

Ok so I just went and read it and the author just done F'd up that quote.  He posts no data, and makes a statement that makes no sense from a statistical point of view.  It's vague and frankly just incoherent and really has nothing to do with his own post.  Comparing permits /month to a total over 3 years with no data............ *shrugs*.  Sounds like another political hack trying to sound smart and failing.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Biden-Desperately-Needs-To-Bring-Oil-Prices-Down.html

“There are those who say that Biden is content to see the prices of traditional fossil fuels rise in order to narrow the pricing differential between them and their more costly ‘green’ alternatives. However, underlining how often and how quickly such lofty principles disappear in the cold light of hard political self-interest, the U.S. Land Administration Committee released data at the beginning of 2022 showing that Biden in his first year as president issued 35 percent more permits for drilling oil and gas wells than his predecessor, Donald Trump, in his first year.”

Somebody is lying to me (not saying it’s you)

35% more permits for oil and gas drilling than trump in his first year. And all I hear from the GOP is Biden caused this? Things don’t add up. Almost like it’s another misinformation campaign. With support from big oil who has lined their pockets at the expense of the average American last year after losing their ass in 2020.

[Stewy]

(03-03-2022, 08:31 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/Biden-Desperately-Needs-To-Bring-Oil-Prices-Down.html

“There are those who say that Biden is content to see the prices of traditional fossil fuels rise in order to narrow the pricing differential between them and their more costly ‘green’ alternatives. However, underlining how often and how quickly such lofty principles disappear in the cold light of hard political self-interest, the U.S. Land Administration Committee released data at the beginning of 2022 showing that Biden in his first year as president issued 35 percent more permits for drilling oil and gas wells than his predecessor, Donald Trump, in his first year.”

Somebody is lying to me (not saying it’s you)

35% more permits for oil and gas drilling than trump in his first year. And all I hear from the GOP is Biden caused this? Things don’t add up. Almost like it’s another misinformation campaign. With support from big oil who is lined their pockets at the expense of the average American last year.

I don't think anyone is lying, but I think the CNBC article author completely F'd the numbers, which were quoted correctly by the oilprice.com article.  What the CNBC article quoted made no statistical sense.  Comparing 1st year to 1st year and the same total percent over the same time makes INFINITELY more sense that the CNBC article that compared permits per month to Trumps total over 3 years.  I'll say the CNBC person just didn't know what they were talking about, but flailing away trying to sensationalize and make themselves sound smart.

Now....issuing drilling permits is not really a sign of the POTUS supporting or not supporting the industry.  It is a sign of increasing and stabilized oil prices, rig count and opportunities.  i can elaborate on this if you like, but basically trumps first year of 2017 was 2 years after the oil price crash.  1/3 of hte industry had been laid off, drilling budgets had been slashed by 50% industry wide, Oil Shales which made so much money at 100$, were losing money at 40$.  Companies were going bankrupt

The POTUS can issue temporary pauses on drilling "Like Obama during the Macondo incident", but federal law prohibits the POTUS from stopping all drilling and all leasing.  Again there can be pauses like now for permitting and lease sales, but they HAVE to come back, by federal law.  POTUS will drag their feet as much as possible of course saying they need to sort out some mess and get their ducks in a row, but leasing will return on federal lands and waters.

As for the drilling permit issue, the following is the best explanation I've seen for it.  Essentially Biden issuing more permits is less about catering to O&G but the fact that he dragged his feet early, but only allowing a 10 person committee in Washington examine and issue permits, which built up a huge backlog.  It was then turned back over to BoLM (Bureau of Land Management), which normally does the job.  The accelerated permitting because of the backlog and basically didn't stop, which lead to more approvals during the first year of Biden's Administration.  As the article says, there weren't more drilling permits submitted, just extra taken out of the back log as the BLm increased the efficiency of doing their job.

https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/the-us-government-speeds-up-drilling-permit-approvals/

Quote:And meanwhile, some lower-profile actions from the administration have been more favourable for oil and gas producers. The decision on ANWR followed soon after a separate move relating to Alaska that angered environmental campaigners and pleased the industry’s supporters. The administration argued in a court case that ConocoPhillips’ Willow project should be allowed to proceed, despite opposition from conservation and indigenous groups. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator for Alaska, said she was pleased that the administration was “committed to supporting the project moving forward”, while Greenpeace USA described the intervention as “a serious misstep”.

More broadly, after a sharp slowdown for a couple of months while authorisations to drill on federal lands had to be approved by a small group of senior officials in Washington, the government has resumed awarding permits at a brisk pace. In February and March of 2021, an average of 254 applications for permit to drill on federal lands in the Lower 48 states were approved each month, well down from the average of 386 per month in fiscal year 2020. But in April, the number of approvals jumped to 671 for the month, almost 75% more than the monthly average for 2020. The sharp increase does not appear to have been a result of more companies seeking permits: the number of new applications went down. Instead, it appears that officials at the Bureau of Land Management are making up for lost time.
“With approval powers back at the BLM offices, the data implies processes are back to business as usual,” said Pablo Prudencio, Wood Mackenzie’s senior research analyst for the Lower 48. “And the agency might even be looking to put a dent in the 5,000-plus backlog of pending federal drilling permit applications.”

So aside from the POTUS trying to be a pain in the ass in early 2021 by doing approvals in Washington, when the BLM was allowed to do their damn job, they accelerated approvals.  The funny thing is Biden caught hell for all the extra drilling permits, when all it was a backlog clean up.  He really has some shitty advisors.

So.....no one lied to you, but you read an article by someone who didn't know what they were writing about, screwed up some statistics and likely wouldn't have understood them if they had gotten it right.

Yes Biden is screwing with the industry as much as possible.
Yes NEW drilling permit applications have been down.
Yes more permits were approved during Biden's first year, but it was backlog clean up, not support of the industry.

What is important to realize is that the management of the BLM and Department of Interior changes with each administration, but the employees themselves are long term govt employees.  They support the industry, as it gives them jobs.  Thus it would not surprise me at all, if they purposely unloaded the backlog to thumb their noses at the POTUS.  Damn funny if you ask me considering Biden paid the political price for being a dick.

[StrictlyBiz]

(03-03-2022, 07:12 PM)Stewy Wrote: Bidens only been in office a year.  He has been no friend to the industry, but what he's doing will affect prices far further into the future.  He's not hampering production, but delaying finding new opportunities.

I have a couple of friends who work closely with energy. One in pipeline, the other wastewater management. They both said the same thing...when The President is perceived as anti fracking/drilling/fossil fuels in general, companies will adjust their plans as such by decreasing future investment accordingly. This is how a President can impact prices. Makes sense to me.