Why Ask the Saudis to Drill? Kirby: '9,000 Unused Drilling Permits'; Jean-Pierre: '1 Billion Barrels of Oil a Day' (June 15, 2022)

With gas prices soaring, a reporter asked why the White House was looking abroad for oil. “How is it that you guys have determined that it’s in the U.S. national security interest to ask Saudi Arabia to drill more oil instead of just letting oil companies drill more here in the U.S.?” a reporter Jean-Pierre called Peter asked at the White House briefing on June 15, 2022 [1].

“Well, I think you know, Peter, there’s some 9,000 unused drilling permits here in the United States as well,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby answered, according to the official White House transcript. “But we’ve never said that — we’ve never said it’s a national security interest that somebody has to pump more oil.” [1]

The video above shows the White House’s answers on drilling. Quotes are from the official White House transcript, the American Presidency Project and the Federal Register [1][2][3].

”How Much Lower Can We Let the Strategic Petroleum Reserves Get?”

The reporter followed up on the nation’s emergency oil stockpile. “And — but as a national strategic issue then, how is it in the — how much lower can we let the Strategic Petroleum Reserves get before that becomes a problem?” [1]

“I think I would refer to the President’s energy advisors on something like that, Peter. I don’t — I don’t know what the inventory is,” Kirby said [1].

”A Record 1 Billion Barrels of Oil a Day”

Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre then opened her part of the briefing on gas prices. “He is releasing — he is releasing a record 1 billion barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” she said [1].

The White House’s own plan was a thousand times smaller. In March, it said Biden would put “one million additional barrels on the market per day on average – every day – for the next six months.” [2]

She also compared prices. “The last time the price of crude oil was $120 a barrel, the price of gas was 425 cents a gallon. Today, it’s about 75 cents higher,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”Profit Margins Have Tripled”

Jean-Pierre blamed the oil companies. “Instead, they are charging record profits at the expense of American families,” she said. “Profit margins have tripled.” [1]

Asked what tools Biden had, she said: “So, look, he is open to all reasonable uses of the federal government’s tools to increase output and lower costs at the pump, including emergency authorities like the Defense Production Act.” [1]

“A Patriotic Duty”

A reporter asked whether Biden’s letter to refiners came with a threat. “Is there an ‘or else’ in there from the President? Is there some way that the administration plans to try to hold these companies accountable?” [1]

“Right. We see it as a patriotic duty,” Jean-Pierre said. “So, we know where to put the blame: on the war.” [1]

“But oil companies, they have — oil refineries, they have a responsibility too. What they have been doing is taking advantage of the war,” she said [1].

Later in that answer, she gave the right reserve figure: “the 1 million a day for the next six months.” [1]

“Would the President Support the Construction of a New Refinery?”

A reporter asked about refining. “The country’s refineries are aging. A major refinery really hasn’t been built in this country since the late 1970s. If one were to be proposed, would the President support the construction of a new refinery or oppose it?” [1]

“That would — I have not seen any of that reporting. And that is not something that I can confirm from the podium at this time. Okay?” Jean-Pierre answered [1].

”Pay a Fee”

The “9,000” permits came from the White House’s March plan, which said the industry was “sitting on more than 12 million acres of non-producing Federal land with 9,000 unused but already-approved permits for production.” [2]

The plan asked Congress to “make companies pay fees on wells from their leases that they haven’t used in years and on acres of public lands that they are hoarding without producing.” [2]

By the Numbers

9,000: unused drilling permits, per Kirby [1].
1 billion: barrels of oil a day, per Jean-Pierre [1].
1 million: barrels a day the White House actually announced [2].
75 cents: how much higher gas was than the last time oil hit $120, per Jean-Pierre [1].

What Happened Next

Trump declared an energy emergency. On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14156. “The United States’ insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy,” it says [3].

The order tells agencies to “identify and exercise any lawful emergency authorities available to them, as well as all other lawful authorities they may possess, to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on Federal lands.” [3]

For Big Oil and the White House that fall, see HYGO News’ page on Oct. 19, 2022. For Biden’s price-gouging warnings, see the page on Sept. 30, 2022.