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Fox’s Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo push false narratives about oil production despite record-breaking U.S. output

Fox’s Laura Ingraham and Maria Bartiromo push false narratives about oil production despite record-breaking U.S. output

Special Programs Climate & Energy

Written by Evlondo Cooper

Published 08/14/24 1:09 PM EDT

During the August 13 episode of Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, host Laura Ingraham and Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo pushed misleading narratives about U.S. oil production and fossil fuel industry jobs to claim that the Biden administration has “banned more drilling and exploration on federal lands,” and argued this was hurting the economy and job creation.

However, both claims are clearly contradicted by current data. As reported by Politico, “We're pumping more oil than any country in history and so much natural gas it’s driving the price down.” In addition, oil production on federal lands has soared during the Biden administration according to E&E News, increasing by approximately 530,000 barrels a day since 2020.

Politico further notes that U.S. oil production reached a new record last week, with “production clocking in at an average of 13.4 million barrels a day.” This represents a 5% increase in production from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Despite this production boom, employment in oil and gas extraction has decreased by nearly 20% since 2019. Politico explains this apparent paradox: “You just need fewer workers to produce more oil,” according to Greg Upton, executive director of Louisiana State University's Center for Energy Studies. 

These facts don't just challenge Fox’s narratives – they shatter them.

Record-breaking oil production coexists with job declines — not because of government restrictions, but due to the fossil fuel industry's relentless drive for efficiency and automation. Fox News’ simplistic drill more, hire more stance ignores how technology is rapidly reshaping the energy workforce. Ingraham's and Bartiromo’s alarmist claims crumble in the face of America's surging oil output, revealing blatant misinformation about U.S. energy production. 

Moreover, this myopic focus on expanding fossil fuel production overlooks the urgent need to transition to renewable energy sources to mitigate the intensifying climate crisis — a transition that could create new, sustainable job opportunities.

Video file

Citation

From the August 13, 2024, episode of Fox News' The Ingraham Angle

 

LAURA INGRAHAM (HOST): Now, Maria, we're here in Houston, OK? Texas is just like one of the energy capitals of the world. Yet the Democrats under Biden and Harris banned more drilling and more exploration on federal lands, right? Just completely shut that down.

MARIA BARTIROMO (FOX BUSINESS ANCHOR): That's right.

INGRAHAM: That really put pressure on our supply. And now we're going to Venezuela. Obviously, Iran is getting rich off of the new desire to get oil from other countries. I mean, this is just insanity. And Texas is like, “This is our people, our country.”

BARTIROMO: Right. And, you know, President Trump calls it “liquid gold” that we're sitting on. And that's why that's his No. 1 issue in terms of getting to sustained economic growth, because it does two things. If you actually tap into the economic capacity that we have with regard to oil and gas drilling in this country, you're doing two things. No. 1, you're creating new jobs, and these are high-paying jobs, these are skilled jobs. And No. 2, you're putting more oil on the market, which is obviously a supply-demand situation. That's going to pressure oil prices down, and that's going to help inflation. That's why he's always saying, “Drill, baby, drill.” And the fact that she's going now on Biden's budget, you have to believe that her economic plans are going to mirror Joe Biden.

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