Energy Tomorrow Blog
Actions to Reduce Emissions Continue to be Led by Natural Gas
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Mark Green
Posted June 14, 2021
Among U.S. efforts to address the risks of climate change, the dramatic shift to natural gas to fuel electricity generation stands out over everything else.
That includes renewables, electric vehicles and the seemingly endless target-setting by various bodies. In terms of measurable progress, none of those has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in this country as much as increased use of natural gas for power generation.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that over the past 15 years, the shift in power generation fuel to natural gas from coal is largely responsible for 2019 sector carbon dioxide emissions that were 32% lower than those of 2005.
New Well Decommissioning Standard Strengthens Effort to Reduce Emissions
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John D. Siciliano
Posted June 11, 2021
Industry support for the administration’s goal of a lower-carbon future is more than just talk. API’s new Climate Action Framework spells out the specific action the industry is taking to address the risks of climate change while supplying the energy Americans rely on every day. This week, API announced its publication of a new standard, API Recommended Practice (RP) 65-3, on properly decommissioning and sealing wells as one of those actions to combat climate change.
Certainly, the administration has identified decommissioning old natural gas and oil wells as one of its priorities for reducing carbon emissions in its push for an infrastructure package. RP 65-3 provides technical guidance for doing the job correctly.
Nation's Need for Secure, Accessible Energy at Stake in Policy Debate
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Dean Foreman
Posted June 10, 2021
Throughout the 2021 economic recovery, API’s data have demonstrated the intertwined relationship between the nation’s recovering economy and affordable, reliable energy. Leading economic indicators have continued to rise, and along with them so has oil demand – even as domestic oil drilling and supply have fallen.
According to the current Bloomberg consensus of economic forecasters, U.S. real GDP growth could average 6.6% in 2021 compared with 2020 -- its strongest expansion since 1984, when the real price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was just over $70 per barrel. Coincidentally, recent oil prices have been at similar levels, and the key question now is whether we have the energy supply to support such a torrid pace of growth.
In that context, actions by the Biden administration that negatively impact or could impact domestic oil and natural gas production appear detached from the nation’s critical need for secure, accessible energy.
Mr. Putin’s Energy Bet
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Mark Green
Posted June 9, 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s negative comments last week about fracking – “truly a catastrophic type of production” – and U.S. natural gas are hardly surprising.
Putin has disparaged U.S. hydraulic fracturing before, and we get it: Few heads of state are as threatened by U.S. global energy leadership, built by the fracking/horizontal drilling revolution. Putin’s newest remarks come as Russia nears completion of a new natural gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, to Germany that will vie with exported U.S. natural gas. It’s all in the marketing, right?
More seriously, the Russian leader’s comments are one among many reminders that energy markets are global, that there’s rigorous competition between energy-producing nations to meet global demand and that domestic natural gas and oil production and the infrastructure to transport it are critically important to our economy, security and way of life.
The Energy Infrastructure Opportunity
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Mark Green
Posted June 1, 2021
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm continues voicing support for our nation’s pipeline network, which is critically important to Americans’ everyday lives, the economy, national security and environmental progress.
Granholm last month said pipelines are “the best way to go” to deliver fuels after a cyberattack disrupted service on the Colonial fuels pipeline. Last week she said her department wants to build more pipes, particularly to transport low-carbon fuels.Summer Driving Season – Questions and Answers
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Mark Green
Posted May 27, 2021
Co-Fueling Power Plants With Natural Gas Can Rapidly Cut GHG Emissions
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Mark Green
Posted May 25, 2021
New, independent analysis says that the U.S. can rapidly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using natural gas as a co-fuel at coal power plants – pointing to another reason domestic natural gas is key to a cleaner future.
The analysis by Resources for the Future (RFF) outlines how EPA could foster natural gas cofiring at coal plants to reduce emissions. Authors Maya Domeshek and Dallas Burtraw write that a modest cofiring standard at coal plants can reduce carbon emissions significantly and rapidly and that adding a cofiring standard to other national electricity policies also accelerates emissions reductions.
MSR: U.S. Petroleum Demand Up, Pushing Domestic Production to Keep Pace
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Dean Foreman
Posted May 20, 2021
API’s primary data for April 2021 evidenced momentum for the broader U.S. economic recovery, as petroleum demand and refining activity rose, supply remained solid and leading economic indicators pointed higher.
The April headline figure was that total U.S. petroleum demand of 19.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) rose by 2.5% from March and to within 3.5% of its level in April 2019, which was its highest for the month in 11 years.
Contemplate that for a second: For all of the dislocation and continuing issues with recovery from COVID-19 pandemic, total petroleum demand in April was within a sliver of where it was that record-setting April of 2019.
Public-Private Collaboration is Best Cyber Defense for Pipelines
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John D. Siciliano
Posted May 20, 2021
Even before the Colonial Pipeline reopened after a criminal cyber attack, some were demanding action, including Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard Glick’s call for mandatory cybersecurity standards.
The attack on Colonial caused major disruptions – underscoring the importance of getting the response right. Unfortunately, some in Washington can’t help but react to an issue before the facts are clear and before calm, rational analysis can guide the best response.
The fact is natural gas and oil industry has a long history of engaging and collaborating with the federal government to protect the nation’s vast network of pipelines and other critical energy infrastructure from cyber attacks.
Climate Action Framework: Strategies for a Lower-Carbon Future
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Lem Smith
Posted May 19, 2021
President Biden has committed the U.S. to bold reductions in economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, nearly doubling our nation’s previously determined target. Policy experts have emphasized that we will need natural gas and oil to achieve these climate ambitions. …
Ushering in a lower-carbon future means addressing the growing, long-term demand for energy, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions at scale. There is no single solution to the climate challenge, but with a comprehensive, cross-sector approach, industry can work with government to drive meaningful progress.