Managing the Conflict Between “Going Green” and Preventing Disastrous Energy Shortages – Drill, Maybe, Drill

February 23, 2023 Article by Jeffrey Price

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Political polarization which seems to be wafting across many industries has certainly not spared the oil & gas sector.  Too often, we have heard rank-and-file oil executives rant about the Biden Administration and its onerous policies “harming” the domestic oil & gas industry.  Let’s do a quick fact-check!  It turns out that the Biden Administration has issued the same number of drilling permits (to date) as did the Trump Administration as reported in this article in The Economist recently.  Surprised?  The article goes on to point out that leasing is down, but as best as any educated observer can see, the industry has plenty of drill sites to develop for the intermediate future.  Directing ire at the Democratic administration over leasing has little or nothing to do with today’s urgent challenges.  Another key takeaway from this fact-check is that characterization of Biden as being in the back pocket of left-wing Democrats (or “socialists”) couldn’t be more inaccurate. 

We at First Keystone support responsible energy development coming from many different sectors.  Most importantly, our own contribution is to build high-quality warehouses for lease in Pecos, Texas, so that our world-class service companies can support the best oil & gas companies in the world right here in the Permian Basin.

In fact, mainstream Democrats understand that fossil fuels are a necessary component of a comprehensive – and rational – energy policy.  Biden, who is doing a superlative job of leading democracies to stand up to autocracies, knows that plentiful oil & gas is a strategic weapon.  He is not wandering into any blind-alley of “renewables”.

The opinions expressed above reflect only those of the author and do not represent those of the First Keystone Pecos Industrial Park organization.  First Keystone welcomes responsible fact-based discourses on these topics.