Flashback: Biden, White House cited inaccurate '9,000 unused permits' figure more than 20 times

The White House repeatedly stated last year that oil companies were sitting on 9,000 unused drilling permits, a figure the administration admitted was inaccurate.

"The record profits oil companies made in 2022 and the thousands of approved but unused drilling permits they are sitting on shows that there is nothing getting in the way of increasing oil production except Big Oil’s own decision to funnel their profits into the pockets of shareholders and executives," a Biden administration official added Monday, downplaying the update. Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

However, the White House had cited the 9,000 permit figure on at least 20 separate occasions last year, according to a review of public statements and remarks. Amid heavy criticism over the administration's climate agenda as consumer prices hit record highs, the president and top officials pointed to the figure as evidence that the oil and gas industry didn't need additional leases and were free to immediately produce energy.