Pro-energy group sounds the alarm on Biden slowing down oil leasing in NM

Joe Biden, in recent weeks leading up to and after the November 8 midterm election, has been sending mixed messages about American gas prices, which have continued to be setting records throughout his time in the White House.

Energy in Depth, a project of the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico, wrote regarding Biden’s continually changing rhetoric on gas prices, “At a rally in New Mexico earlier this month, [Joe] Biden claimed that there has been no slowdown in leasing in the state – although the facts say otherwise. But while campaigning for Democrats in New York state, President Biden bragged that there will be ‘no more drilling’ under his tenure.” 

“These mixed messages have real effects, particularly in states like New Mexico, where a large part of oil and natural gas production takes place on federal lands. In 2021, New Mexico became the second-largest producer of oil in the country, with approximately 54 percent of that production taking place on federal lands. Royalties and other payments from the oil and natural gas industry make up approximately 35 percent of New Mexico’s budget, which funds essential infrastructure, education, and healthcare priorities.”

Biden erroneously claimed at the rally for the reelection of anti-energy Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, “I know we have a lot of leases out here in New Mexico for oil companies. And we haven’t slowed them down at all. They should be drilling more than they’re doing now. If they were drilling more, we’d have more — more relief at the pump. But the oil industry hasn’t met their commitment to invest in America and support the American people.”

But according to an analysis from the group, the Biden regime has significantly slowed down leasing in New Mexico, right in the middle of a global energy crisis. Energy in Depth “took the total number of parcels offered by the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico during a given Presidential administration and divided it by the number of years each president was in office to get the average number of parcels offered each year – and the results are startling.”

Biden has offered massively lower numbers of parcels for sale than the past two presidential administrations. The group said the Biden administration has offered 90.7 fewer parcels annually than the Barack Obama administration and 93.7 fewer than the Donald J. Trump administration.

“[T]he Obama and Trump administrations held an average of 3.25 and 3.5 lease sales in New Mexico per year, respectively, as President, while the Biden administration has only held or scheduled a total of two sales, with a current average of 0.67 lease sales per year. Even if the Biden administration were to hold three lease sales in 2023, it will have only offered an average of 1.7 lease sales per year in New Mexico – significantly less than the Obama and Trump administrations,” wrote the group.

Under the administration of New Mexico Gov. Lujan Grisham, many anti-energy bills have passed the state legislature, including the state’s version of the Green New Deal, which will wipe out the energy industry in New Mexico.