Energy Tomorrow Blog
Industry Reporting Guidance Improves Sustainability Performance
ESG Environment climate change
Sam Winstel
Posted November 6, 2020
The natural gas and oil industry has advanced sector-wide guidance for sustainability reporting for over fifteen years, reinforcing its longstanding commitment to energy and environmental progress.
Earlier this year, three international natural gas and oil industry associations – API, IPIECA and IOGP – released an updated version of the “Sustainability Reporting Guidance for the Oil and Gas Industry,” which provides a common framework for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
In September, IPIECA released the results of its annual reporting survey, identifying widely used performance indicators and emerging trends. The findings, which include answers from 27 of the world’s largest energy companies, highlight the progress of industry leaders and partner organizations.
API Committed to Energy Accessibility and Workforce Inclusion
energy access workforce diversity
Sam Winstel
Posted October 21, 2020
As API’s members focus on meeting some of America’s greatest challenges, it’s clear our workers – the men and women of natural gas and oil – are our industry’s most valuable assets. For the future, this industry must continue to attract the best and brightest minds – while building a diverse, inclusive and resilient workforce that will bring energy to America for decades to come.
Over the summer, API President and CEO Mike Sommers wrote to colleagues underscoring the strength in this industry’s diversity, and initiating a conversation among natural gas and oil operators about actions to address disparities in the energy workforce and in American communities more broadly.
This month, Sommers joined Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and a pioneering civil rights leader, to continue this conversation with a one-on-one interview entitled, “Opportunities in the Energy Industry.”
5 Ways We’re Leading on Climate
climate change emission reductions innovation natural gas
Sam Winstel
Posted September 21, 2020
America’s natural gas and oil industry is committed to reducing the risks of climate change by producing ever-cleaner fuels and continuously improving environmental performance. As a nation, we’ve made significant progress over the years, with national greenhouse gas emissions down 10% since 2005.
Tackling the challenge of climate change will require a collaborative, cross-sector effort, and API is prepared – with climate policy principles – to constructively engage to identify workable policy solutions that deliver economic and environmental progress.
This Climate Week, let’s recognize the ongoing role that energy operators will continue to play in safely developing resources in the U.S. and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
U.S. LNG Exports Fuel Natural Gas Consumption in South Asia
liquefied natural gas lng exports natural gas benefits
Sam Winstel
Posted August 31, 2020
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is redefining the world’s modern energy mix. Even as the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic have cut into natural gas demand, analysts project a progressive recovery and long-term growth for U.S. LNG – particularly in emerging markets – due to its enduring economic competitiveness and environmental benefits.
In South Asia, the affordability of American LNG is expected to increase consumption, displacing demand for coal, as countries such as India and Bangladesh seek out reliable, lower-carbon energy resources.
Make Safety the Foundation of Your Home Improvement Project
811 pipeline safety industry standards
Sam Winstel
Posted August 11, 2020
On National 811 Day, we’re reminding DIYers to dial before you dig!
After several months of coronavirus-imposed quarantine, Americans are mastering the art of stay-at-home. With all those extra hours of downtime, people confined to their houses and apartments are cooking, crafting, exercising and, apparently, remodeling.
This spring, sales surged for home improvement equipment and materials at retailers like Lowe’s and Home Depot, and recent polling from Bank of America shows that more than 70% of Americans have decided to tackle a DIY renovation project during the pandemic.
Cybersecurity Key to Protecting Critical Energy Infrastructure
cybersecurity infrastructure security
Sam Winstel
Posted August 7, 2020
Modern, resilient natural gas and oil infrastructure is vital to maintaining U.S. energy affordability and economic competitiveness. As the industry undergoes rapid digitalization, reliability remains fundamental to energy operations, particularly as cybersecurity risks present emerging challenges.
The U.S. has been subject to an increasing volume of malicious cyberattacks from China, Russia and other foreign adversaries, posing a persistent threat to our national security and grid reliability. Within the next two years, 2.5 billion industrial devices will be brought online in the energy industry, meaning the need to protect our critical infrastructure assets has never been more urgent.
Common Sense Approach to Reliable, Low-Emissions Electricity
natural gas electricity renewables emission reductions
Sam Winstel
Posted July 31, 2020
Former Vice President Joe Biden's camp says he wouldn’t completely ban hydraulic fracturing (see the New York Times and here) – the technology most responsible for a domestic energy revolution that has made the U.S. the world’s leading producer of natural gas and oil. While Biden’s proposal to end new federal fracking leases is misguided, the fact he wouldn’t try to ban it elsewhere may suggest a recognition that fracking is critically important to the U.S. economy and national security.
This could indicate some important common ground, which API President and CEO Mike Sommers addressed in the Times article.
This is especially welcome news for the nation’s electricity grid operators. They’re on the front lines of the twin effort to provide affordable energy to American homes and businesses, while lowering carbon dioxide emissions from power generation. For them, clean and reliable natural gas is the cornerstone for succeeding on both fronts, which is why natural gas is the nation’s No. 1 fuel for power generation.Studies Show Industry Offers Better Jobs, Greater Opportunity
oil and natural gas jobs unions
Sam Winstel
Posted July 17, 2020
Some lawmakers have proposed putting hundreds of thousands of Americans to work in clean energy jobs while moving the U.S. away from natural gas and oil and, presumably, from the jobs our industry supports.
Somebody should check to see if that’s what working men and women want.
A new study released this week by North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) shows that workers appreciate jobs in natural gas and oil over “green-collar” jobs – because they pay better, last longer and provide greater opportunities.
Membership Rise, Midstream Expansion Add to Environmental Partnership’s Reach
the-environmental-partnership emission reductions natural gas methane
Sam Winstel
Posted July 15, 2020
The Environmental Partnership continues to grow, broadening the reach of the industry initiative to further reduce emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds across the country.
In releasing its annual report, the Partnership announced it is expanding its membership to midstream companies. The Partnership, which has tripled the number of participating companies since it was launched, currently includes 36 of the top 40 U.S. natural gas producers.
Again, the Partnership’s membership growth means that more and more companies have signed on to the Partnership’s strategy of bringing operators together to learn from each other, collaborate on technologies and best practices and to take actions that improve their environmental performance. More broadly, this growth shows industry’s commitment to lower emissions and protect the environment while also supplying the energy that makes modern life possible.
Proposed Clean Air Act Rulemaking Promotes Regulatory Transparency
clean air act epa air quality emissions
Sam Winstel
Posted July 6, 2020
Smart regulatory reforms from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) support responsible energy development and strengthen the economy, while protecting human health and the environment. EPA’S proposed Benefit-Cost Rule under the Clean Air Act certainly fits with that approach.
The proposal would improve the rulemaking process by clarifying the environmental, scientific and economic impacts of newly proposed rules for the public, the industry and all stakeholders.