Energy Tomorrow Blog
The Common Ground of Emissions Reduction
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Mark Green
Posted March 5, 2021
We don’t yet know the full extent of the Biden administration’s strategy for U.S. energy. As API President and CEO Mike Sommers has said repeatedly since the election, our industry is ready to work with the administration for a better economy, cleaner environment and progress toward climate goals. Based on remarks by former Secretary of State John Kerry at the CERAWeek conference, there’s important common ground for a cooperative relationship.
“I don’t object per se to fossil fuel," said the president's special envoy for climate. "I object to the byproduct of fossil fuel, which is the carbon. That’s the problem, and the methane, that's another major problem emerging. So, we have to be able to abate. It’s the debate between unabated and abated production.”
Common ground: The natural gas and oil industry also is for abating carbon emissions – and has been working to reduce carbon and capture methane, through innovation and technology, for some time.
Industry investment, innovation and problem-solving on emissions came up so often during CERAWeek, it was hard to track them all. If, as Kerry said, the administration sees carbon and methane emissions as the targets – and not the energy from natural gas and oil – industry not only is a willing partner, it’s one that’s tackling those challenges head on.
Federal Legislation Supports CCUS as Economy-Wide Climate Solution
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John D. Siciliano
Posted March 1, 2021
The COVID-19 relief and government spending bill passed by Congress in December, the Energy Act of 2020, included an important boost for carbon-capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technology – a must-have as an economy-wide way to address the risks of climate change. ...
The natural gas and oil industry, along with groups representing a broad range of industry sectors, have demonstrated continued and growing support for CCUS, and believe the Energy Act of 2020 lends critical support for key research and innovation to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint.
Natural Gas Exports Ban Makes Little Sense for Environment
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Mark Green
Posted November 1, 2019
The U.S. as a global leader in natural gas exports is underlined by a new government report showing that through the first six months of this year, U.S. net natural gas exports averaged 4.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) – more than doubling 2018’s average net exports. This follows analysis that the U.S. became a net exporter of natural gas on an annual basis for the first time in 60 years in 2017.
These figures are significant for a number of reasons:
First, they attest to the strength of domestic natural gas production, which continues to set records – largely thanks to shale production enabled by safe hydraulic fracturing. … Second, expanding markets for U.S. natural gas helps support more domestic production – which means jobs, investments and other economic growth.
Third, growing exports of clean natural gas means other nations may realize the environmental benefits from increased use of natural gas.C’Mon, New York, Embrace the Energy Renaissance
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Mark Green
Posted April 20, 2017
Natural gas is a winner – for U.S. consumers, the economy and the environment. Quick, somebody tell officials in New York state – where they continue to ban hydraulic fracturing, the key to unlocking vast natural gas reserves located right under New Yorkers’ feet, to the benefit of New York consumers, New York job-seekers and New York’s environment.
Energy and Declining Emissions
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Mark Green
Posted March 31, 2017
New government data shows that carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation are at their lowest levels in nearly 30 years, and natural gas is the key reason why. The data comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest Monthly Energy Review, and it shows emissions associated with power generation last year were the lowest since 1989.
More on Natural Gas’ Role in ‘Decoupling’ Economic Growth, Emissions
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Kate Lowery
Posted December 9, 2016
The concept that economic growth doesn’t have to be accompanied by rising carbon emissions – dubbed “decoupling” by the New York Times – has additional detail in a new Brookings Institution report that finds more than 30 states have seen those historical partners delinked and headed in different directions. Though Brookings credits state and local efforts for the majority of this emissions reduction progress between 2000 and 2014, cleaner-burning natural gas is the real hero.
Energy Progress vs. EPA's Politics
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Mark Green
Posted April 19, 2016
Some important context before a discussion of a flawed emissions report from EPA, which follows below.
The United States is the world’s No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas – largely thanks to safe and responsible hydraulic fracturing and advanced horizontal drilling. Natural gas production reached a record high level of 79 billion cubic feet per day in 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (chart), while total U.S. energy output increased for the sixth consecutive year.
The increased natural gas production and use is critically important, as it is the key factor in reduced carbon emissions during a period of U.S. economic expansion – a break with historic precedent noted by the New York Times. Indeed, the United States is leading the world in carbon emissions reductions, largely thanks to its energy revolution.
Natural Gas and the U.S. Model for ‘Decoupling’
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Mark Green
Posted April 11, 2016
Two questions posed by the Times: How to explain a departure from the historical linkage between economic growth and increased carbon emissions? And, can the decoupling of economic growth and rising emissions be a model for the rest of the world?
The explanation isn’t all that complicated. We’ve talked about it for a number of months (see here and here). It’s natural gas. The increased use of clean-burning, domestically produced natural gas is the main reason the United States leading the world in reducing carbon emissions during a period of economic growth.
America’s Fracking Energy Progress
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Mark Green
Posted March 29, 2016
A quick list of some of the benefits realized by the United States thanks to modern hydraulic fracturing and advanced horizontal drilling:
Surging oil and natural gas production
The United States is the world’s leading producer of oil and natural gas, resulting in lower oil imports and an opportunity for the U.S. to compete with other producers in the global market.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, oil production from safely fractured wells totaled more than 4.3 million barrels per day in 2015, about half of all U.S. oil output.
Technology Moves U.S. Energy Ahead
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Mark Green
Posted March 18, 2016
It doesn’t get enough notice: The U.S. energy renaissance is a revolution built on advanced technology and the ongoing quest to problem solve.
One of the best examples is hydraulic fracturing, the most important reason the United States leads the world in oil and natural gas production. Industry innovators took a process used for more than 60 years, modernized it and married it with it with advanced horizontal drilling to safely unleash previously inaccessible oil and natural gas reserves from shale and other tight-rock formations. It transformed America’s energy picture from one of scarcity and dependence to one of abundance and greater self-sufficiency.
The moral: When conventional wisdom says something can’t be done, just wait. Necessity, innovation and technology are marvelous at proving conventional wisdom shortsighted or wrong. On advancing new energy technologies to develop oil and gas more efficiently and in ways that are better for the environment, our industry isn’t standing still.