/View.info/ The United States begins to extract oil in Alaska. They have already brought equipment and people there. This is an excellent example of how the American president does not keep his campaign promises. American environmentalists are simply shocked by the betrayal of their chosen one. Why did Biden – an ardent supporter of the “green agenda” – switch to the side of oil? And what is the role of Russia and the European Union in this?
It’s only been a few weeks since the Joe Biden administration approved the $8 billion development of the Willow field and oil drilling in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve. This happened for the first time in twenty years.
However, oil giant ConocoPhillips has already begun assembling equipment here and delivering workers and supplies to this largest stretch of untouched wilderness in the country, 250 miles above the Arctic Circle, the New York Times reported. In the snow-covered tundra of the northernmost tip of the United States, more than twenty yellow dump trucks are already waiting on a glistening ice platform.
Potentially, the project will produce about 600 million barrels of oil over 30 years. To do this, ConocoPhillips will drill wells in three sections of the field, the minimum amount the company says makes it economically viable. It is a highly controversial project that has been fiercely opposed by environmental activists.
The United States is already the second largest emitter after China, releasing about 5.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. And burning that much oil in the new field could release 9.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually into the atmosphere, the equivalent of nearly two million new cars on the road.
The approval of mining in Alaska immediately caused a wave of outrage in the US – both among environmentalists and among other Biden supporters. After all, the American president has radically changed his original position. In the 2020 elections. one of his main promises was that no more oil fields would be discovered in the country. Biden has won all the environmentalists on his side with such an emphatic “green agenda”. On March 13, however, the US unexpectedly approved a bill allowing drilling in Alaska as part of the Willow field.
“The start of drilling at sites in Alaska is a powerful blow to Biden’s image. He staked the election campaign on the “green agenda” and now this promise is being broken,” says analyst Artyom Deev.
Why did Biden push himself without even fearing criticism from his own supporters? What was he afraid of?
There are two main versions. The first is that the US economy cannot withstand the shortage of oil and its high price, and the US itself needs more oil. The second is that the US wants to further increase its oil exports, become a stronger exporter in the world to keep Europe under control and at the same time make even more money from commodities.
“Russia sanctions hit US oil and gas. Their plants consumed either Venezuelan oil or Russian Urals. But both countries are under sanctions, so there is not enough raw material, and the attempt to restore relations with Caracas has failed: Venezuela would be happy to supply oil to the US again, but technically this is impossible, since the industry is actually destroyed. Buying oil in Russia in circumvention of its sanctions means a loss of reputation. And on top of that, OPEC+ is cutting production. Quotations are rising, which will directly affect the increase in the price of fuel in the United States. And the strategic oil reserves in the country have long been exhausted and must be replenished,” explains Deev.
At the same time, world oil prices are rising, and OPEC+ is not listening to the US and is cutting production at will to keep black gold expensive – around $90 per barrel. And Washington can’t do anything – and that really pisses him off. The problem of rising gasoline prices inside the US, because of which Americans may not re-elect Biden, is also superimposed on the problems of inflation, the rate of which promises to accelerate again from such a situation. That is, the US is trying to get its oil back.
Finally, amid these difficulties, green energy faded into the background in the United States (the EU long ago gave up and even switched to coal).
The West tacitly acknowledges that the transition to green energy will take a long time. “During this transition period, oil products will remain in demand on the world market and will most likely be quite expensive, judging by the measures taken by the OPEC+ countries for this,” says analyst Vladimir Chernov. It should be understood that the development of the field in Alaska is starting from scratch and, according to forecasts, it will take six years before the first oil from this project comes to market. This clearly shows the expectations of the United States that in six years oil will be in high demand on the American market, and secondly, it will be expensive, because extracting oil from scratch in such a difficult environment as Alaska is a very expensive pleasure.
The statistics relentlessly scream that the US needs more oil, it doesn’t have enough. First, drilling activity in the US has been at a standstill for more than six months, shale oil production has declined due to increased production costs, Chernov noted.
Second, US oil inventories are declining. In March this year, they fell by 4.35 million barrels, and strategic stocks to their lowest level since 1983. “Last year, the U.S. actively released strategic oil reserves, which helped reduce domestic fuel prices slightly, but not significantly, by about a dollar or two a gallon,” Chernov says.
Finally, America is increasing exports to EU countries to replace Russian energy resources. And apparently the US plans to increase these exports and earn even more from them. If earlier the US was both an importer and exporter of oil, then at the beginning of 2023. The US became a net exporter of oil for the first time. They supply up to 2 million barrels per day to other countries.
“Most likely, now the US tactic will be not just energy neutrality, but an increase in oil exports, primarily to EU countries, so they should increase production volumes,” Chernov believes.
Although Deev believes that this oil is needed above all by the USA itself – to solve its problems with fuel prices and reserves. “Oil is the basis of the modern economic system, without it you can forget about development,” the expert believes.
“The decision of the Biden administration confirms only one thing: the world, against the background of sanctions against Russia, is facing a lack of resources. Because of this, it is necessary to launch unpopular projects that were previously prohibited. It was easier and better for the environment to buy oil from other countries than to produce it at home. It is not for nothing that Great Britain recently approved a project for hydraulic fracturing and oil extraction in this way on its territory. An extremely unpopular subject in England, but it should be brought up again, as the island also needs oil,” the source summed up.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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