Kyle Mackie:

The nonpartisan conservation organization the Center for Western Priorities held a media briefing Wednesday to counter what they describe as a PR campaign by U.S. oil and gas producers, calling for more subsidies and greater access to public lands amid the war in Ukraine. The nonpartisan budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense also weighed in, represented by Vice President Autumn Hanna.  

Autumn Hanna: 

The simple truth is that oil and gas companies will say they need more taxpayer subsidies in just about every circumstance, including the current situation in Ukraine. However, when it comes to oil and gas, we are largely energy independent from Russia. The U.S. does not import any natural gas currently from Russia and imports of crude oil made up only 1% of total U.S. crude over the last decade. 

Kyle Mackie: 

Scores of prominent Republican politicians, including a coalition of 25 governors, have been calling on President Biden to boost American oil and gas production since Russia launched its unprovoked attack on Ukraine. Hanna says the U.S. was already a net exporter of petroleum in 2020 and 2021, and that new production records are expected to be broken this year. Producers are also sitting on a stockpile of drilling permits across federal and tribal lands that amount to an area larger than the state of Kentucky and aren’t currently being used, according to the Center for Western Priorities.