On Friday, The Daily Caller reported that America is projected to become a net importer of crude oil in 2022. In 2020, America exported more oil than it imported for the first time in several decades.
The article reports:
“In 2021, the United States returned to importing more petroleum (which includes crude oil, refined petroleum products, and other liquids) than it exports following its historic shift to being a net exporter of petroleum in 2020,” the EIA (Energy Information Administration) said. “According to our February 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect net crude oil imports to increase, making the United States a net importer of petroleum in 2022.”
“Historically, the United States has been a net importer of petroleum,” the EIA report continued. (RELATED: ‘Reckless Decision’: Biden Administration Adds Climate Roadblocks For Future Pipelines, Energy Projects)
The U.S. was a net exporter of oil in 2020 because demand for the commodity declined as coronavirus spread and nations shut down, according to the EIA. However, exports increased and imports decreased rapidly beginning in 2016 and accelerated under the Trump administration, the data showed.
The article concludes:
However, the U.S. became a net exporter of total energy in 2019, factoring in both coal and natural gas trade. (RELATED: Biden Administration Defies Court Ruling Again, Opts Against Holding Oil Drilling Sales)
“At a time of energy uncertainty in the world, the U.S. natural gas and oil industry is producing at levels that have helped cushion domestic markets and American consumers against global supply disruptions that once would have put severe pressure on our economy here at home,” American Petroleum Institute chief economist Dean Foreman wrote in 2019.
Former President Donald Trump pursued an aggressive energy agenda, promoting domestic fossil fuel production. The Trump administration approved multiple pipelines, ended the previous coal leasing moratorium and opened up more federal lands for oil and gas leasing.
President Joe Biden, though, has taken the opposite approach, nixing the Keystone XL pipeline, ditching an oil drilling project in Alaska, staying silent on a court ruling that prohibited a massive offshore drilling lease in the Gulf of Mexico and making it harder for utilities to gain approval for natural gas projects.
The U.S. has approximately 38.2 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, according to the EIA.
For security reasons, diplomatic reasons, and economic reasons, America needs to be energy independent. The Biden administration has worked hard to make sure we are not energy independent. Although I realize that President Biden will never be impeached (due to political reasons and the fact that Kamala Harris is his Vice-President), President Biden’s handling of energy policy in America is an impeachable offense.