President Obama’s record on energy is starting to be embarrassing. First, he espouses preliminary exploration off the U.S. East Coast, but then after Macondo, he nixes that and imposes a temporary, but devastating, drilling moratorium.

Next, Solyndra goes belly up, throwing 1,000 people out of work and wasting more than half a billion dollars of a U.S.-backed loan for a green company that was supposed to be a model of job creation. Then, he kicked the can down the road to delay a decision on Trans - Canada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL Pipeline until after the 2012 election.

Obama may be known for his love of basketball, but in November, he showed us just how good he is at another athletic skill: punting.

The State Department, ultimately answering to him, ceded to the Greens and to the Nebraska legislature, which was in emergency session the first week in November, trying to figure out how to stall or stop XL, which was to go through the sensitive Sandhills region of the state. Opponents feared a spill would hurt the Ogallala Aquifer.

I am all for protecting the environment. Who isn’t? But give me a break. This pipeline was studied by the relevant parties for three years. Some 14 different routes were considered. We cannot choose an environmentally acceptable route after all that? Come on! Let’s get on with it! In that amount of time, China would have built three mega-airports. Virgin Airways would have built a tourist rocket to the moon.

I am certain TransCanada will build its pipeline. The question is, will it move 500,000 barrels a day to Gulf Coast refiners, or will it head west to ports in British Columbia, where the oil will be shipped to our biggest competitor—the lucrative and energy-hungry Asian market?

Luckily, the U.S. is in position to get on with it, by producing more of its own oil—and it’s lighter than Alberta’s heavy oil and more refinery-ready to boot.

Goldman Sachs has estimated that by 2017, we could be producing as much as 10 million barrels a day, thanks to the Bakken, Eagle Ford and other oily plays. That’s an unheard of, unforeseen increase.

The International Energy Agency’s annual report on energy supply, demand and prices, titled “World Energy Outlook 2011,” was also released in November, the same week that Obama punted. Its report says U.S. oil imports will decline over the next few years thanks to our own rising production. Never thought I’d see the day.

In addition, U.S. demand will continue to decline slightly but steadily due to growing use of more efficient engines, alternate fuels and conservation.

In the meantime, China and the European Union will vie for the title of world’s biggest importer of oil, with China ultimately taking the title by 2020.

Although we may end up importing somewhat less oil from abroad, we will still likely have to pay more for it on a unit basis. The Paris-based agency also predicts that oil will top $120 per barrel by 2035. At press time it was just a dollar away from reaching $100 again.

Global oil demand is currently about 88 million barrels a day, its highest level yet, and this despite the fact that the U.S. and Europe are still fighting against a recession by any other name. The IEA projects it will pass 90 million a day next year, and rise to 99 million a day by 2035.

To meet that demand will be this industry’s biggest challenge. E&P companies are getting on with it all around the world, from Canada to Brazil to Ghana.

Oil production from U.S. shales is less than 1 million barrels per day now, but it will be 2 million a day before 2020. Even smaller, traditional independents in the U.S. are getting on with it.

“We all know about the growth in horizontal oil drilling, but this year we’ve also seen growth in the traditional vertical oil count,” Nigel Browne, analyst with Macquarie Capital (USA), told attendees at the annual meeting of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. “In 2009, 75% of the rigs were drilling for natural gas and now, we say 60% will be drilling for oil by 2013. We also expect the pressure-pumping market to be under-supplied until 2013.”

For this issue’s cover story on the 2012 financial outlook, we again visited New York to talk to some of the financial providers and investors there. This happened to be shortly after the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks, so you’ll see some of our photos of the World Trade Center site, where a new tower rises, and scenes of the new 9/11 Memorial that has just opened to the public. Today, as then, we believe in supporting our friends and colleagues in Manhattan, some of whom endured personal losses. If you would like to make a $10 donation to the 9/11 Memorial Fund, just text HOPE to 80088.

For more commentary from Leslie Haines, see the blog at OilandGasInvestor.com