How the US quietly became the world's top crude oil producer

"No president has overseen energy production like Biden has," said The New York Times

(Image credit: Allison Dinner / Getty Images)

What happened?

In President Joe "Biden's America," Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tweeted Wednesday, the federal government "chooses energy dependence over energy DOMINANCE AND INDEPENDENCE." In reality, net oil imports are dropping and "the U.S. produces more crude oil than any other country on the planet," Marketplace said.

The commentary

The U.S. becoming the world's top oil producer "would've sounded absurd just a decade ago," especially because "we're producing all that oil with far fewer rigs," thanks to drilling innovations, Marketplace said. "No president has overseen energy production like Biden has," but he "isn't bragging" about it, Jim Tankersley said at The New York Times. Record oil and gas production has "strengthened Biden's hand in foreign policy" and it "helps reduce energy costs" at home, but "all that production has brought Biden grief from environmental groups" and "young progressive voters."

What next?

Biden "loves to talk about" the solar and wind power surging under his watch. But it's a "tough balancing act," Ryan Cummings, a White House economist who created a never-published 2023 chart showing America's energy boom, said to the Times. "You want to reduce emissions, but you need a bridge to get there."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.