Sommers: 'We Need All Hands on Deck'

Mark Green
Posted May 11, 2023

API President and CEO Mike Sommers likes to talk about American oil and natural gas as the first 8% of the U.S. economy, because without the energy they provide the other 92% doesn’t work. He’s not wrong.

Oil and natural gas accounted for nearly 70% of the energy Americans used in 2021, yet their economic reach extends beyond just the fuels for transportation and power generation when you think about all the products made from petroleum that make modern life possible.

So, when Sommers spoke this week in Oklahoma City, in the heart of oil and natural gas country, there was unmistakable passion in his voice as he enumerated challenges and opportunities ahead for the industry – and the role Americans in Oklahoma and other places can play in the ongoing policy and political debate in Washington. Sommers:

“Tell your business partners, tell your clients, tell your best customers, tell your friends at church. Get them all involved – we need all hands on deck. … API and this industry cannot do what we do without your involvement and the ability – at virtually any moment – to show and demonstrate that the American people are on our side.”

We’ve talked about the headwinds American oil and natural gas have faced the past couple of years in Washington: a lack of new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters (just one round of onshore lease sales since the first quarter of 2021), the continuing delay in issuing a new five-year offshore leasing program, the glacial pace of trying to legislate permitting reform so needed infrastructure can move ahead, and a confounding pattern of mixed messages from Washington on the future of oil and natural gas, which has contributed to a chilling effect on the investment climate.

There’s also an active regulatory front, with EPA last month proposing tailpipe emissions rules that could be the first step in a ban on gasoline-powered vehicles in less than a decade, and this week a power plant rule that could impact the use of natural gas in generating electricity. Sommers said such proposals ultimately hurt Oklahomans and all Americans with “potentially less reliable and more costly energy” sourced from other parts of the world.

The stakes in the policy give-and-take are huge for American families and businesses as well as America’s allies abroad. Europe’s energy struggle, exacerbated by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, has taught the importance of American leadership in global energy markets – which tracks back to the need for continued growth in domestic oil and natural gas production.

America cannot retreat from the energy realities of today and those that lie ahead. Sommers noted that in October it will have been 50 years since an oil supply crisis landed Americans in lines at filling stations that circled city blocks:

“This led to an economic lost decade here in the United States. We must never go back, and we should take the right steps to avoid doing so.”

Americans speaking up is critically important in securing our hard-fought energy advantage. Nine in 10 support the U.S. developing its own sources of energy rather than relying on foreign suppliers. Eighty-five percent believe producing oil and natural gas here at home could help lower energy costs, and 84% agree that U.S. oil and gas helps strengthen America’s energy security – by providing access to uninterrupted, affordable energy. Ultimately, this kind of overwhelming support can make a difference in what is done in Washington.

Sommers challenged the Oklahoma City audience to stay involved in the debate:

“We have the abundant supplies, and the shale revolution started an energy technology surge here in Oklahoma and beyond. Thanks to your hard work, the United States has become the model for energy independence and energy security. ... There’s a lot at stake in these fights – not just Washington politics, but for our future.”