Bringing Energy Facts and Analysis From Coast To Coast

Chris Carroll
Posted April 10, 2023

API continues to track and engage with local news outlets all over the country, chiefly through letters to hometown newspaper editors (as we highlighted not too long ago). It’s one of many ways we proudly represent American natural gas and oil in the public square.

Usually, our point of view appears with other voices on news and opinion pages, which we value. But not always, and readers may be left without important information as they follow key energy issues.

For example, in our view, a piece earlier this year in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) lacked context as it lauded Georgia’s emerging electric vehicle industry and suggested the state is leading a rapid transition away from natural gas and oil. API offered additional information via a letter to the editor, but the offer drew no response from the newspaper.

That is unfortunate, because the AJC’s readers would have benefited from a more complete story.

The article had some interesting aspects. At the very bottom of the piece, the AJC disclosed that the coverage was “supported by a partnership with 1Earth Fund, the Kendeda Fund and Journalism Funding Partners” and included a link for readers to donate to the newspaper’s climate reporting.

You can read about 1Earth Fund, the Kendeda Fund and Journalism Funding Partners – understanding that supported or sponsored content in newspapers typically reflects the views of the supporters or sponsors. Readers also were told that Cox Enterprises, owner of the AJC, also owns a 4% stake in Rivian, the electric-vehicle manufacturer mentioned in the article, and that an AJC executive serves on Rivian’s board of directors.

Let’s be clear. There’s nothing wrong with sponsored content.

Lots of organizations, including API, sponsor, pay for and provide editorial content in news outlets to help engage with Americans from coast to coast.

That said, here’s some of what we would have pointed out in a letter to the AJC editor, had it been accepted:

• Natural gas accounted for 45% of Georgia’s total electricity net generation in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Nuclear supplied 27% and renewables – including hydroelectric and small-scale solar – accounted for 12%.
• Georgia’s transportation sector ranked fifth in the nation in energy consumption in 2020, with petroleum products ranking as the state’s largest source of energy (32%).
• In Georgia, EVs represent about 1% of all vehicles, according to another AJC article in December 2021. The same piece called the EV market “so tiny that it barely registers.”

This is relevant context that might have found a way into the AJC’s 2023 article – or at least might have been provided to readers through an accepted letter to the editor from API.

Renewable energy has a growing and important role to play in America’s energy mix. Yet, EIA projects that this role will be alongside, not instead of, natural gas and oil, which will supply more than 63% of America’s energy in 2050.

Now, let’s move on to some recent examples of API local engagement:

Pennsylvania: Generating Support for Permitting Reform

API-Pennsylvania Executive Director Stephanie Catarino Wissman concurred with an op-ed in Harrisburg’s Patriot-News about the need for streamlining approval processes for energy infrastructure. That includes new pipelines that can quickly move oil and natural gas from where they are produced to where they are needed most. Wissman:

“A bipartisan effort to modernize the permitting process for energy infrastructure facilities, such as pipelines, would curtail predatory lawsuits, incentivize investment, create jobs and ensure American energy leadership for decades to come.”

Idaho: Building Support for a Lower Carbon Future

Aaron Padilla, API vice president of Corporate Policy, replied to an elected official in the Idaho Statesman to clarify that cleaner energy and renewable strategies should include American oil and natural gas and that the industry is a leader in harnessing science to develop breakthroughs, including carbon capture and storage (CCS). Padilla:

“As U.S. producers continue to reduce emissions from their operations, American policymakers need to recognize the sector as a key part of a cleaner energy future.”

California: Defending Carbon Capture

API assisted with placing a pro-carbon capture letter to the Sacramento Bee by Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association. Reheis-Boyd:

“For CCS to reach its full potential across America, policymakers need to prioritize innovation in energy, streamline permitting processes and allow the energy industry to bring this groundbreaking technology to scale.”

Texas: Pushing Back Against Activist’s Claims

During March’s CERAWeek, the mega-energy conference that gathers energy and government leaders, climate activist Bill McKibben attacked U.S. oil and natural gas companies in The Houston Chronicle with the false claim that American energy companies were taking advantage of the war in Ukraine. API Senior Vice President of Communications Megan Bloomgren responded that American producers shipped 140% more liquefied natural gas to Europe in 2022 than they did in 2021, helping avert a winter catastrophe and building a lower carbon world. She concluded:

“The world needs more oil and natural gas, not less, because lives and livelihoods depend on the reliable, affordable energy they provide. That’s where our industry is focused: on meeting demand with American resources and reducing emissions now and in the future.”