Much of the blame for record pump prices has been directed at so-called “Big Oil” companies and their renouncement of the “drill, baby, drill” philosophy in exchange for a focus on investor returns.

Though simple supply-demand dynamics, refining constraints and a general hostility toward oil and gas development are the primary reasons for skyrocketing energy prices, it is true that publicly traded U.S. oil production companies are being more conservative with their drilling plans after years of operating in the red.

But overlooked is the fact that the private independent producers responsible for two-thirds of U.S. oil output – and 100 percent of Illinois’ oil production — don’t have to answer to investors and are eager to drill. Still, these smaller companies are drilling less than would be expected given the high price of crude oil, and U.S. oil production remains down about one million barrels per day from pre-pandemic levels.

So what’s holding these smaller companies back?

Unfortunately, the same labor shortages, skyrocketing costs and supply chain constraints that have frustrated the country in general have also kept small independent oil companies from drilling as much as they would like.

Ask any Illinois oil producer what is tying their hands and they’ll tell you it’s become almost impossible to find the qualified workers that are absolutely essential to the industry. Many folks may be surprised to learn that every new oil well drilled and completed in Illinois supports 161 jobs during its lifetime. The well development processes alone directly or indirectly supports 60 to 70 jobs across more than 10 companies. Not only does it take dozens of people to drill and bring a well into production, those people are exceptionally hard-working and skilled. And unfortunately, they are in short supply.

The reality that one quarter of the current Illinois oil and gas industry workforce is either at or nearing retirement age means this precarious situation is only likely to get worse. Add in the cost of drilling and production materials such as steel casing more than doubling from the pre-pandemic average, and it’s no wonder that drilling is lagging.

Then there’s the refining situation. The United States does remain the world’s largest oil producer, but crude oil has little practical use unless it is refined. So the fact that U.S. refining capacity is down 1.1 million barrels of oil per day since the end of 2019 is an often overlooked reason for the supply-demand imbalance. Many refineries that shut down during the pandemic are unlikely to open up again any time soon due to hostile policies toward hydrocarbon-based fuel production.

The cumulative result of all of these issues has been elevated fuel prices. Price “gouging” has been blamed. But in reality, it is impossible to meet surging demand without an adequate labor force, constrained refining capacity and supply chain issues that make essential materials either outrageously expensive or not available at all.

Bottom line: America needs a lot more energy than is currently available to drive prices down to the affordable levels we enjoyed for more than a decade.  The most recent government data show overall consumer energy costs are up 41 percent since last June, with pump prices up a whopping 60 percent, natural gas costs up 38 percent and electricity costs up 13 percent. Renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs) have been touted as panaceas. But due to weather-dependent intermittency and the same supply chain issues holding back traditional energy development, renewables are proving to be more of a supplement than a replacement for traditional energy, while EVs remain way out of the average American’s price range.

Simply stated: We are in an energy crisis that is going to get worse before it gets better. The independent oil producers that account for 100 percent of Illinois’ petroleum production are eager to do their part to ease this crisis, but their hands are tied. So as the “energy transition” continues in earnest, the only certainty is that it’s going to be bumpy and expensive.

Seth Whitehead is executive director of the Illinois Petroleum Resources Board which provides public awareness and education programs regarding the upstream Illinois oil and gas industry. IPRB programs are funded entirely by voluntary contributions of oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners in Illinois.