Top Industry Policy Issues

The United States is at an historic turning point for the country and its energy policies. But many Americans lack a full understanding of the oil and natural gas industry. API has assembled this oil and gasoline primer to encourage a constructive public policy debate that leads to a new fact-based comprehensive energy policy.

This study by Wood Mackenzie examines the impacts of opening access to key U.S. regions which are currently closed to development, as well as assessing a return to historical levels of development on existing U.S. producing areas (including onshore U.S., the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska). The economic impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline and other potential Canada to U.S. oil pipelines are also considered.

The United States and Canada enjoy the largest trading partnership across the longest peaceful border in the world. Getting more U.S. energy from a friendly North American neighbor would reduce U.S. reliance on energy resources from less stable regions, create American jobs, while enhancing domestic energy and national security.

Liquid petroleum pipelines carry crude oil and refined petroleum products (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, etc.) across state and even country borders (interstate & international) as well as within states (intrastate). Pipelines are widely acknowledged to be the safest and most efficient way to move energy products overland for long distances; crude oil and natural gas from production areas to processing plants and refineries, and consumer-ready products to markets.

Bitumen is a mixture of heavy oil, sand, clay and water. It is separated from the sand and water in a centrifuge prior to dilution for transportation.

Find out what the Oil Sands Fact Check website is all about.

The United States imports 8.4 million barrels of oil and petroleum products a day to help meet its energy needs. Canada is the largest supplier to the U.S., providing more than 2.4 million barrels a day – more than 1/4 – of these imports.

The Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) has completed a study of the impact of developing Alberta’s oil sands in a staged manner according to the capacity and in-service date of existing and proposed pipelines.

Advanced technologies developed over many years are used to produce oil from oil sands.

America’s oil and natural gas industry considers safety its top priority and is committed to developing the technologies, standards and best practices, and programs needed to help ensure that workplace safety is at the forefront of our activities. Also, see API's latest Issue Papers which provides information on topics from access to offshore oil and natural gas to fuel prices and the impact of taxes on the industry.