According to the US Department of Energy - energy companies have drilled 58,350 wells in the US since Mr Obama was inaugurated in 2009, the highest for any presidential term since the first four years of Ronald Reagan between 1981 and 1985, when companies drilled 71,319 wells.

The private sector – and not the US federal government – is responsible for the record of drilling that Mr Obama has allowed. Yet, mysteriously, he has avoided the pressure from the green and left flanks of his own party to regulate the shale boom.

Of course, Mr Obama had help: the development of a technique called hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – has allowed companies to access hydrocarbon deposits previously considered uncommercial. And the high oil prices of recent years have channelled billions of dollars into boosting production.

Mr Obama’s drilling record is significantly better than that of recent Republican presidents. During the years under George Bush senior, companies drilled 38,564 wells. And his son George W. Bush was no better, with just 32,581 oil wells during his first four years in office. The numbers improved during his second term, with 54,189 oil wells.

US voters appear to appreciate the drilling figures for this presidency. A recent Gallup poll gave Mr Obama a13-point edge over Republican candidate Mitt Romney on energy. Pollsters asked voters who they trusted more on energy, regardless of their political affiliation: 53 per cent said Mr Obama, while 40 per cent supported Mr Romney.

Such approval could come in handy as the White House faces rising petrol prices again. The average US retail price for regular petrol this week reached $3.776 per gallon, nearing the $4 level that is seen as a traditional “panic” threshold.