So was the Obama administration just trying to generate revenue for the federal government?
Nah. He really thought it would work. Now that it hasn't, he will conclude that we don't need to drill more because it's been shown that an increase in supply does not reduce prices.
Economics was wrong!
It's just like his protestation that he tried tax cuts and they didn't work. Just like all liberals, he's unaware that different types of tax cuts have different economic results.