To help meet future U.S. energy demand growth and to diversify the U.S. energy portfolio, U.S. oil and gas companies invested an estimated $121.3 billion from 2000 through 2007 on emerging energy technologies in the North American market. This investment represents 65% of the estimated total of $188 billion spent by U.S. companies and the Federal government.
These emerging energy technologies serve a stated aim of U.S. energy policy by either:
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Prominently increasing North American energy supplies, thereby increasing energy security (technologies include frontier hydrocarbon technologies such as gasification, including hydrogen production; gas-to-liquids; oil shale, oil sands, and other heavy crude extractive and processing technologies);
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Providing additional non-hydrocarbon supply options (ethanol, biodiesel, wind and solar);
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Moving towards globalizing a regionally limited natural-gas market to reduce risks associated with supply and price (LNG); or
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Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (new low emission supplies such as wind and solar; reduced emissions from hydrocarbon usage such as coal gasification, cogeneration, and development of CO2 capture and sequestration technologies; more efficient end-use technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells and advanced-technology vehicles).
Of the U.S. oil and gas industry investments, an estimated $109.8 billion (or 90% of the $121.3 billion total) was directed toward frontier hydrocarbons. The ability of major oil companies to upgrade oil sands and heavy oil into refinery feedstock, and to turn residue hydrocarbons (gasification including hydrogen production) into high-value products, is a natural extension of the industry's expertise.
Yet, U.S. oil and gas industry investments go beyond frontier hydrocarbons. In addition, the industry invested an estimated $15.9 billion over the 2000-2007 period for advanced end-use technologies, mostly for efficiency improvements through combined heat and power (cogeneration) and for advanced-technology vehicles using fuel-cell and advanced battery technologies. Significantly, this $15.9 billion investment in end-use technologies represents 33% of the estimated total amount ($47.8 billion) spent by U.S. companies and the Federal government.
Publicly announced nonhydrocarbon investment by the U.S. oil and gas industry over the 2000 – 2007 period was estimated at $1.5 billion, representing 5% of the total estimated investment of $30.1 billion in this area. The industry’s top investment was in wind; significant investments were also made in solar, geothermal, and landfill digester gas. See Oil and Gas Industry Investments in Alternative Energy, Frontier Hydrocarbons, and Advanced End-Use Technologies: An Update by T2 and Associates with the Center for Energy Economics at the University of Texas, October 2008, for a full discussion of these results.