The Sun Bay Paper Page 18 January 7, 2022 - January 13, 202 National News While Texas led both in crude production and bankruptcies, New Mexico became second-largest oil producer in the U.S. as U.S. crude oil production fell by 8% in 2020, the largest annual decrease on record, the U.S. Energy Information Agency reports. This plunge occurred one year after the U.S. reached a record annual average high of 12.2 million barrels a day in production in 2019. In January 2020, U.S. crude oil production reached a peak of 12.8 million b/d. But with federal and state lockdowns halting travel over coronavirus fears, demand for oil dropped and production became too expensive to maintain. By March 2020, the oil and gas industry experienced a “bloodbath,” and by April, the WTI was negative $40 a barrel for the first time in history. Prices at the pump also reached historic lows. To stop the hemorrhaging, crude oil operators shut in wells and limited the number of wells brought online, laying off large numbers of workers, all of which resulted in significantly lower output. By May 2020, U.S. crude oil production reached its lowest average monthly volume for the year at 10 million b/d, EIA reports. Overall, U.S. crude oil production dropped 935,000 b/d to an average of 11.3 million b/d in 2020. The 2020 decrease in production was the largest annual decline in the EIA’s records, the agency says. It’s been tracking U.S. annual crude production since 1940. If there was a silver lining to be found, it was in Texas and New Mexico fueled by drilling in the Permian Basin. In Texas, more crude oil was produced than in any other state or region of the U.S. in 2020. Texas produced 43% of the national total of crude oil in 2020, averaging 4.87 million b/d. Its production still represented a 4% decrease of 205,000 b/d from the record high of 5.07 million b/d set in 2019. After the state shut down in mid-March last year, wells closed, rigs stopped operating and tens of thousands of workers were immediately laid off. Texas' oil output fell in March by an estimated 235,000 b/d, the largest monthly decline ever recorded, according to the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. The Alliance’s benchmark Texas Petro Index fell to 172 in April from 181.9 in March, the second largest monthly decline on record (the September to October 2015 11point drop is the largest on record). By June 2020, Texas led the nation in oil and gas bankruptcies. New Mexico also reached a new record. In 2020, it saw the largest statewide increase in crude oil production in its history. It increased production by 15%, or 133,000 b/d, reaching a record annual average high of 1.04 million b/d. New Mexico also became the second-largest oil producer in the U.S. in fiscal year 2021, behind Texas. Its oil and natural gas industry contributed $5.3 billion to state and local governments in tax revenue in FY21, the highest figure recorded in state history. By contrast, decreases in production were seen in the Gulf of Mexico, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. The Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico saw the largest decrease in crude oil production in 2020, dropping 245,000 b/d, or 13%, to an annual average of 1.65 million b/d. Much of this was due to weather related events such as hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf that forced operators to evacuate platforms and shut-in production. Oklahoma had the largest percentage decrease of production of 19%, with an annual average of 469,000 b/d. North Dakota saw the second-largest decrease of crude oil production of 242,000 b/d, or 17%, dropping to an annual average of 1.18 million b/d. Bethany Blankley The Center Square 2020 U.S. Oil Production Fell By Largest Decrease In History Border Patrol Agents Seize Record Amount of Drugs U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers apprehended more people in November than October and confiscated a record amount of drugs last month, according to its latest operational report. In November at the southern border, encounters with unaccompanied minors increased by 9% from October, with family units by 5%, and with single adults also by 5%. The number of unique encounters, meaning people who were apprehended for the first time by CBP agents, showed a 10% increase from October. Nationwide, drug seizures were up 90% in November over the prior month. CBP credits the large number of foreign nationals making multiple illegal border crossings last month “to the large number of expulsions during the pandemic,” suggesting that the total number of encounters “somewhat overstate the number of unique individuals arriving at the border.” In November, a total of 173,620 people were encountered by CBP agents, of which 127,653 were unique encounters – meaning nearly 46,000 encounters were of individuals attempting to enter more than once. Of those attempting to enter more than once, 25% had at least one prior encounter in the past 12 months, compared to an average one-year re-encounter rate of 13% over a five-year period (FY20142019), CBP reports. Of the number of people encountered in November, 87,341 were processed for expulsion under Title 42, the majority of which were 75,955 individuals. CBP reports that 86,279 people were processed for expulsion under Title 8. Family units were also deported. CBP reports that 11,155 family unit individuals were processed for expulsion under Title 42; 33,784 were processed for expulsion under Title 8. The number of encounters of family unit individuals increased by 5%, from 42,795 in October to 44,939 in November, which was roughly half the peak of August encounters of 86,631. The number of unaccompanied children illegally crossing the border in November was 13,959, a 9% increase from October, when 12,783 unaccompanied minors came through. In November, the average number of unaccompanied children in CBP custody was 962 per day, compared with an average of 595 per day in October. CBP’s credits the 90% increase in drug seizures last month to an “efficient layered enforcement approach.” Using various technologies, inspections, canine sweeps, and secondary exams, agents were able to thwart criminal activity, CBP says. CBP reports that cocaine seizures increased by 41%, methamphetamine seizures increased by 164%, and fentanyl seizures increased by 7%. By contrast, heroin seizures decreased by 12%. In 2021, CBP agents confiscated 319,447 pounds of marijuana, 190,861 pounds of methamphetamine, 97,638 pounds of cocaine, 202,820 pounds of khat (a stimulant that comes from a plant), and 73,872 pounds of other drugs, including prescription, chemical and other uncategorized drugs. In November, CBP also processed more than 3.3 million entry summaries valued at more than $270 billion, identifying estimated duties of nearly $8.7 billion to be collected by the U.S. government. Agents also seized nearly 1,545 shipments that contained counterfeit goods valued at more than $335 milion. Bethany Blankley The Center Square President Joe Biden is kicking off his second year in office with his highest disapproval rating to date. A new CNBC/Change Research poll found 56% of voters disapprove of Biden’s job as president, the worst disapproval numbers the president has seen since taking office. The economy and COVID19 are major factors in voters' sentiments, with 60% disapproving of Biden’s job on the economy and 55% disapproving of his work on COVID-19. Biden had previously seen poor economic numbers but better approval numbers on his handling of the pandemic. The drop in COVID-related ratings comes amid a flurry of vaccine mandates and a surge in omicron cases around the nation. This week, the U.S. is reporting one million new cases of COVID-19 daily. Polling from December showed voters do not approve of Biden's vaccine mandates. Convention of States Action, in conjunction with Trafalgar group, released polling data last month reporting that the majority of Americans oppose new vaccine mandates to counter omicron. The poll found 69.4% of Americans said “no new mandates or restrictions are required” in response to the COVID variant, while 30.6% said the opposite. “Unlike government health officials in Washington, DC, Americans have already figured out that mandates and lockdowns are not the way we will beat the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mark Meckler, president of Convention of States Action. “As we’ve seen in our polls repeatedly, the American people are tired of all this and are ready to get on with their lives. The U.S. Senate finally recognized this reality ... with the bipartisan passage of the bill to block President Biden’s illegal vaccine mandate, and we’re going to see more of this as we get closer to 2022 and elected officials fight to save their jobs.” Casey Harper The Center Square Biden Disapproval Rating Reaches New High
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