Joe Biden is the "Drill, Baby, Drill" President

Five figures that show record oil and gas production and exports

Source: U.S. Department of the Interior

I would guess that we are going to hear the phrase “drill, baby, drill” a lot in the next three months. Here at THB, one goal is to ensure that whatever our politics or views on policy, that we work hard to share a common understanding (or at least a shared understanding of disagreement) of what available evidence says and does not say.

Many people I talk to are surprised to learn that U.S. oil and natural gas production and exports are in record territory under the term of the Biden administration. This post shares relevant data.

It is of course fair to ask how much influence a particular administration might have over oil and gas, but whatever that influence, it is incorrect to assert that the Biden administration has seen any reduction in production or exports.

The figure at the top of this post shows U.S. oil production on federal lands from 2008 to 2023, by president. The Biden administration has seen production grow to record levels, continuing a trend that began in 2013, during the Obama administration, interrupted only by the pandemic in 2020.

Production on federal lands is of course just a small part of overall U.S. oil production. The figure below shows the overall trend, which has also reached record levels since the pandemic.

Source: U.S. EIA.

The figure below shows that U.S. crude oil exports — Hold on there. Take a second to realize that we are talking about U.S. crude oil exports — have also increased steadily since 2021 and are also in record territory.

Source: U.S. EIA

Similarly, the figure below shows that overall U.S. natural gas production (by formation) 2007 to 2023, is also in record territory for 2022 and 2023.

Source: U.S. EIA.

Finally, the figure below shows U.S. LNG exports from 2016 to 2024. Up, up, and up.

Source: U.S. EIA.

Looking at the time series above, it might be fair to conclude that the “drill, baby, drill” president is whichever one happens to be in office, regardless their party or policies. The biggest difference might be simply how they talk about energy.

The U.S. is currently the world’s energy superpower. The more important questions are not about who wants to “drill, baby, drill,” but rather, what sorts of U.S. policies make sense given where we are today.

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