Politicians Confuse Issue With Leasing Statistics

摘要

Although energy isn't always a partisan issue, the razor-thin margins of the US presidential race have motivated Democrats and Republicans to float a cacophony of statistics to either prove or disprove the notion that the Obama administration has been supportive of oil and gas development. Different parameters tossed around by politicians include the level of oil and/or natural gas production on federal lands, turnaround times for permits, the frequency of lease sales, the amount of acreage offered at lease sales, and whether those figures represent a comparison of year-on-year changes or some other time horizon.