In a striking shift from her previous two stances (for fracking, against it, and now for it), Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris took the stage during Wednesday night's debate and openly embraced the oil and gas industry. She boasted about record-breaking domestic oil production and distanced herself from earlier calls (2019) to ban fracking.
Harris stated, “We have had the largest increase in domestic oil production in history because of an approach that recognizes that we cannot over-rely on foreign oil.”
While Harris highlighted the success of the Inflation Reduction Act in promoting climate-friendly investments, she also acknowledged that the law expanded opportunities for new drilling on public lands, further signaling her alignment with the industry’s interests.
Is this latest position an attempt to attract voters in key energy-producing states like Pennsylvania?
Critics argue that while she touts domestic production, the Biden administration has overseen the lowest number of federal leases in the program's history. Given it usually takes years to convert a new lease into actual production, the current record production is a product of the last several administrations. Production under future administrations may be stymied by the Biden/Harris administration’s recent curtailment of leasing.
CIPA member Chris Hall recently responded to a WSJ Editorial that examined how the Biden Administration was helping climate change activists by stringing out environmental reviews of fossil-fuel projects and requiring CO2 emissions analyses, giving opponents more ammunition for legal challenges.
Hall noted that there had been promises and pleas to have congressional members hold and commission a report on the impact that state regulations have on our oil industry - a bipartisan report on the national security implications. Despite the talks and meetings, the hearings were never held, and no report was ever written.
The future of U.S. oil production may hinge not just on political promises but on the roadblock a president and his/her administration place on the road and the ability to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.