Well, This Is Just Peachy

Amidst Gas Shortage, Biden Proposes Another Drilling Ban › American Greatness (amgreatness.com)

As the United States suffers from an unprecedented shortage of natural gas, the Biden Administration has proposed yet another ban on drilling in the oil-rich state of New Mexico, CNN reports.

On November 15th, Biden announced a proposal for a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling in Chaco Canyon, located in northwest New Mexico. The justification for the ban is the proximity to the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; as such, the proposal would see a halt to all oil and gas drilling on federal lands within 10 miles of the park. The ban would be carried out by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior (DOI).

We should definitely respect sacred ground. But I wonder if this is really true, since we’ve been drilling there for some time. When in doubt, err on the side of caution, though.

As much as I’d like to, I can’t fault Team Biden too much for this one. But I would hope they would open up something else to offset any losses here. I doubt they will though.

Each Time It Gets More Stupid

Biden Could Release More Oil From Strategic Reserves, Even Though First Release Didn’t Move Gas Prices | The Daily Wire

The 50 million barrels released so far amount to 1/12th the total supply. If we release much more, we go from stupid to dangerous.

President Biden may release more oil from the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve — even though a similar move from the administration had a negligible effect on gas prices.

Amos Hochstein — the White House’s Senior Advisor for Energy Security — told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble that releasing oil from the reserve “is a tool that was available to us and will be available again.”

“Remember, this was not a 50-million-barrel release, 30 million barrels were an exchange where companies and traders can take the oil now and return it over a scheduled period of time. That means the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will be replenished,” Hochstein explained. “And therefore, we have more flexibility to be able to do this again in the future if the need arises. I think we wanted to do something that was impactful for the market and that also had the ability and the flexibility to allow us to do that again should the need arise for the American economy.”

The problem is that there isn’t much of a timetable for the replenishment. And you can guarantee that traders won’t be replenishing it until the price comes down. They want to make a profit here.

Of course, there are things that Biden could to to actually lower the price of oil and gas…

I’m So Old, I Remember When We Weren’t at the Mercy of OPEC

11 months ago. Seems like a lifetime.

OPEC considers lowering production to account for oil reserve releases (worldoil.com)

OPEC and its allies may re-evaluate plans for reviving oil supplies if the world’s four largest consuming countries go ahead with a co-ordinated release of their strategic petroleum reserves.

India became the latest major consumer to contemplate deploying its stockpiles, potentially assisting the U.S., Japan and China in a move to dampen the inflationary threat of higher energy costs. The U.S. has urged fellow consumers to tap reserves after crude prices hit a seven-year high.

But the potential move pits them against the OPEC+ coalition -- led by Saudi Arabia and Russia -- for control over world oil markets.

“Such a move would potentially raise the stakes in the oil poker game and could produce new strains in the bilateral relationship between Washington and Riyadh,” said Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets LLC.

The 23-nation alliance already rebuffed calls from U.S. President Joe Biden and others earlier this month to speed up the return of supplies halted during the pandemic. Delegates said that even the modest production increase they have penciled in may now be re-evaluated when the group meets next week.

A year ago, we did what we wanted with our oil production, and if OPEC didn’t like it, we gave them the finger. Now, we are beggars at their door, pleading with them to increase production, while they sit back and laugh.

And Yet, They Can’t Figure Out Why Energy Prices Are So High

Biden Admin Recommends Tighter Constraints On New Oil And Gas Drilling Amid Energy Crisis | The Daily Wire

The report recommends that the federal government increase royalty rates for oil and gas drilling above the current rate of 12.5%, which is significantly less than many states and private landowners charge drilling companies to lease on their land. If implemented, the rate hike would be the first in 100 years, according to The Associated Press. The report also recommends an increase in the bond payments that oil and gas producers pay in advance for future cleanup operations from drilling new oil wells. Those rates have also not been raised in decades, according to the AP.

Brilliant.

Maybe we can close some pipelines again, too.

Well, They Have to Blame Somebody

And they cant blame Republicans. They have no power. They surely aren’t going to blame themselves. That leaves…

Democrats Start Blaming Biden For High Gas Prices, Slam His ‘Policy Band-Aid’ Of Releasing Oil Reserves | The Daily Wire

Democrat lawmakers are starting to blame Democrat President Joe Biden for high gas prices across the country that are threatening the party’s majorities in both chambers of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.

“There is a variety of contributing impacts, but certainly I think the buck stops with the president,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) said in an interview this week. “And I’m proud to be among those legislators on Capitol Hill that continue to ring the alarm bells about how serious this is.”

Well, she’s right. It is precisely President Joe Biden’s (D-USA) actions that have led to the high price of oil and gas. And he could undo most of them with the stroke of a pen.

I Suspect That Florida Will Not Be the Last Red State to Do This

Gov. Ron DeSantis Introduces $1 Billion In Florida Gas Tax Relief (lifezette.com)

Speaking alongside leaders in the gas and transportation industry, DeSantis said, “Gas prices have been rising due to inflationary pressures from bad federal policies, so we here in Florida need to step up and provide relief to our citizens. Today, I am proposing that during session, the Florida Legislature provide more than $1 billion in gas tax relief for Florida families. This will have a positive impact on millions of Floridians.”

The first domino to fall.

I Think I’ll Be Staying Home a Lot

Top investor says prepare for $100+ oil price, $5+ gas this winter | One America News Network (oann.com)

But it’s this kind of childish thinking that will compromise US National Security and harm the poor and underserved. A coordinated SPR release is a quick shot of morphine for a major infection. It fixes nothing and is evidence of a panic in DC. Prepare for $100 now..#GasPrice

— Kyle Bass (@Jkylebass) November 23, 2021

He actually thinks it could go higher than that. Yippee.