The Obama administration took credit on Wednesday for reports that domestic crude oil production surpassed foreign imports for the first time in roughly 20 years.
The United States churned out more crude oil in October than it imported, the Energy Department reported on Wednesday. The last time that happened was 1995.
Press secretary Jay Carney led off his daily briefing with the data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA)."This milestone is a result of both increased production and administration policies, like increased fuel economy standards, that cut oil consumption, cut carbon pollution and cut consumer bills," Carney said to the press on Wednesday.
Carney said the shift in direction was driven by three factors: The growing efficiency of vehicles spurred by President Obama's fuel economy standards, investments in biofuel production and increasing oil production.
A prominent oil and gas lobby disagreed with Carney's statements and blamed the administration for a drop in oil production on federal lands.
"Credit for the rise in American energy production goes to the men and women working every day to develop oil and natural gas here at home," Kyle Isakower of the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement.
"Domestic oil and natural gas production is only on the rise thanks to development on state and private lands," Isakower added.
Here is the Energy Department information hub's breakdown:
"Monthly estimated domestic crude oil output averaged 7.7 million barrels per day in October, which was the highest production for any October in 25 years, while oil imports were 7.6 million barrels per day."
EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook can be found here.
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