Will be...
but not quickly or very much, Biden released 211MM and the initial request is for 3MM. Not going to help if prices climb next summer, and definitely not enough to prop up prices this winter.
To your point I've always found it pretty ridiculous the numbers that various OG CEOs and analysts throw out, like the $200 claims last spring. Cause and effect brohems, sure if nothing changes then you can mathematically arrive at $200, but as prices climb things change. Demand destruction isn't a cliff, it's a gentle slope.
Since 1995 a lot of domestic oil has been found, and a lot of technology for extraction + conservation + renewables has been developed. So that makes sense.
I think the Powder has the ability to increase production a bunch, but I do think he's right there isn't an obvious "next" domestic basin on the horizon.
Since the beginning of the frack boom we've gotten way better at a lot of things, for instance drill days have dramatically improved. Probably not a ton of room there for incremental improvement.
There is a decent amount of improvement with chemistry, i.e. frack chemicals, most companies are pretty rudimentary in there fracks and use the same general load on most of their wells.
Obviously we are reducing demand a bunch of different ways through EV/renewables.
Inflation in service costs is a very real thing and that's been seen in the rig count.
~1050 Feb 2019 ($55 WTI)
~250 July 2020 ($40.71 WTI)
~784 Nov 2022 ($84.37)
~772 Jan 2022 ($76.13)
There is always a lag time between rigs and WTI and as you can see above the bottoms and tops of those rig counts were delayed from peak and trough WTI by 3+ months.
But here is the point, even with tech improvements that rig count isn't going to expand production much and Nov -Jan we've seen a decline in rig count not an increase like we did last year, and Biden can't (shouldn't) release another 211MM barrels.
Could be another wild ride.