The Biden administration has been publicly hostile to domestic oil drilling, frequently clashing with the industry over drilling permits on public lands. But a closer examination reveals the White House is not necessarily against oil drilling---as long as it's in the right state. In fact, a new report shows the Biden administration has been eager to approve drilling permits for the home state of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland---New Mexico. "Since Biden took office, 52-percent of the permits on federal lands have gone to New Mexico solely," says Kym Bolado, host of In The Oil Patch on KTRH. "We need to drill in every state that we can, but New Mexico seems to have an overwhelming amount of permits being approved very quickly."
The raw numbers are even more stark. Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan says there have been 9,366 applications for drilling permits approved in New Mexico under the Biden administration, while his state of Alaska "can barely get 1." In a speech on the Senate floor, Sullivan called out the administration's hypocrisy directly, saying "The Secretary of the Interior has been shutting down Alaska energy production while approving massive drilling activity in her own state."
Bolado points out that most of the oil drilling in Texas is on private lands, so this state is less reliant on federal drilling permits. But that's not the case in Alaska, where most of the land is owned by the federal government. "Alaskans are begging for this," she tells KTRH. "A very large part of their economy is drilling in oil and gas, and yet they are not being allowed to."
"It all comes down to the politics, and it's a downright shame," she continues.
Bolado warns this politicization of energy production could have more dangerous consequences. "It's a matter of national security, it costs the taxpayers more money, and our allies need energy---like in Europe---the demand is up," she says. "And we are playing dumb politics with it like usual."