President Biden Blinked -- April 15, 2022

Link here to The WSJ.

Royalties:

• from 12.5% to 18.75%
• very, very reasonable; that's what mom-and-pop mineral owners in the Bakken expect (18.75%)

Area to be "freed up" for permits:

• 144,000 acres 
• an 80% reduction from the footprint of land that had been under evaluation for leasing
  

Comments:

• the three more recent Biden announcements in an attempt to lower gasoline prices at the pump:
• historic, unprecedented, record-breaking release of the SPR: to date, no effect on crude oil prices;
• E15 mandate for refiners; 2% of all retail outlets offer E15; most are in the midwest (fly-over country); and where available, most consumers do not want;
• backtracking: allowing drilling on federal land:
• of the three, the third, politically, is perhaps the most remarkable of all his announcements
• the area involved is so small it will make no difference, none whatsoever
• however, this was a huge blow to his ever-decreasing constituency;
• this was his campaign promise: no drilling on federal land
• this suggests his team is really, really in a panic over price of gasoline determining outcome of the midterm elections later this year
• the administration has run out of arrows in the quiver to affect gasoline prices