Energy Tomorrow Blog
Spotlight on Progress – Industry-wide Resilience and Opportunities for Growth
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Amanda Eversole
Posted December 18, 2020
Last week, I was honored to participate in the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council’s (WBENC) Energy Week and present at the State of Energy Industry Webinar, alongside a distinguished group of panelists representing every segment of the natural gas and oil industry to discuss the challenges facing the sector, as well as the opportunities for natural gas and oil operators in the year ahead.
This industry, like many others, has navigated the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s racial reckoning, the election season and the ongoing economic fallout from widespread shutdowns. Across the board, API members have demonstrated unwavering resilience, finding ways to deliver essential energy products while protecting the health and safety of our workers, communities and the environment.
Americans are Big Winners With Natural Gas and Oil Development
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Mark Green
Posted December 9, 2020
Let’s discuss the value of natural gas and oil to all Americans – the fundamental worth of abundant, affordable and reliable energy to modern, daily life, the economy and our nation’s security – which gets lost in two U.S. senators’ proposal to make producing energy on federal lands more costly.
U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Tom Udall of New Mexico want to increase the royalty rate for production on federal lands, which would discourage that critical production. We’ll get to that point down below. First, let’s zero in on the issue of fundamental value.
In a New York Times op-ed, Grassley and Udall call the American public “the big loser” under the current royalty arrangement. In doing so, the senators are so preoccupied with percentages they inadvertently make an afterthought of what current natural gas and oil production on federal lands means for U.S. economic growth, global leadership, strengthened security at home and significant environmental progress.
Consumer Spending and Investment Could Kickstart New Economic Growth
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Dean Foreman
Posted December 1, 2020
The year has brought extreme and at times contradictory information about the economy and our industry, making it increasingly difficult to determine whether the economic recovery has gained firm footing and ultimately traction, in which natural gas and oil will play a key role.
Importantly, we currently see well-grounded pillars for expected U.S. and global economic growth over the next two years – personal consumption expenditures and investment that generally represent the majority of GDP. These could kickstart new economic growth and prosperity that will not only require but fundamentally be enabled by oil and natural gas.
Singling Out Natural Gas and Oil for Higher Taxes is Bad Policy
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Mark Green
Posted October 27, 2020
Three points about Vice President Joe Biden’s pledge, if elected, to deny the natural gas and oil industry the use of growth and investment provisions in the tax code that are available to virtually the entire U.S. manufacturing sector – basically, singling out our industry for higher taxes.
1. Our industry is strongly invested in the U.S. economy, its infrastructure and workforce through spending today and in the future.
2. The ability through tax deductions to recover costs associated with job creation and other operational investments is critically important to seed energy development in the future, to create new jobs and help drive economic growth.
3. The U.S. natural gas and oil industry pays its fair share in taxes – and then some – while delivering safe, affordable and reliable energy that Americans count on every day.
U.S. Has Come Too Far For a Retreat on Natural Gas and Oil
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Mark Green
Posted October 26, 2020
Vice President Joe Biden’s statements on fracking and energy during the final presidential debate raise questions about the former vice president’s overall understanding of issues that are so critical to the U.S. economy, security and the environment.
We’ve previously noted Biden’s various comments on fracking – he has said he would ban the technology that made the U.S. the world No. 1 in natural gas and oil production (see here and here), before vowing he wouldn’t ban it. He repeated the no-ban pledge in Nashville (after asserting he never said he opposed fracking).
More problematic is another promise Biden repeated during the final presidential debate – that he’ll ban new federal natural gas and oil leasing, effectively halting new production on federal lands and waters.Banning Energy Development Would Devastate Louisiana
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Mark Green
Posted October 16, 2020
We’ve discussed the significant national impacts of policies touted by some (see here and here) that would effectively stop new natural gas and oil leasing and development on federal lands and waters, potentially weakening U.S. security, killing jobs, raising household energy costs and more.
The national numbers could be big and alarming. Still, most Americans probably can relate more easily to potential impacts where they live, work and raise their families. This post zeroes in on New Mexico. Another state where the potential is large for job losses, reduced economic activity and decreased revenues – for education and other state and local priorities – is Louisiana.
A new ICF analysis shows much is at stake in banning new federal leasing and development for Louisiana, which ranked third in the nation in 2019 natural gas production and ninth in oil production as of June 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
DOE Report Shows There's Much to Lose With Bad Energy Policies
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Mark Green
Posted October 8, 2020
The stakes in bad energy policy proposals – to ban new natural gas and oil leasing on federal lands and waters and/or fracking – are underscored in a new U.S. Department of Energy report that details the economic and security benefits of robust domestic energy development. ...
Much of the DOE report reinforces what we’ve been saying, that misguided proposals to effectively end new natural gas and oil production in areas under federal control – including in the Gulf of Mexico – and/or to ban fracking, responsible for about 95% of new wells in the U.S. today, put the benefits outlined in the DOE report at risk. Weakened security, lost jobs, reduced economic output.
Continued Progress Seen in Petroleum Demand
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Dean Foreman
Posted September 11, 2020
While oil markets remain concerned over the outlook for petroleum demand – see John Kemp’s piece arguing there’s lost momentum – a number of important indicators of transportation and industrial activity corroborate API’s primary data suggesting a more nuanced landscape while also supporting the view that genuine progress has recently been achieved.
Since petroleum demand has remained a solid indicator of economic activity, the information has broad applicability to everyone who is concerned with what’s happening now. And for those of us in the industry, accurate and timely data are essential to the flow of real activities and investment dollars.
From here it looks like oil markets have been relatively impatient, having anticipated a continued tightening as demand has recovered and supply declined. The challenge is managing expectations for the rate of recovery.
Video: No Malarkey, Natural Gas and Oil Critical to U.S. Security, Growth
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Mark Green
Posted August 25, 2020
Former Vice President Joe Biden, talking about the benefits of U.S. natural gas and oil in the years leading up to his 2020 presidential campaign:
“North American energy makes us independent.”
“We’re positioned to own the 21st century. … North America will remain the epicenter of energy.”
… Clearly, there was a time when the former vice president was quite bullish on U.S. natural gas and oil. He recognized the strategic benefit of falling U.S. oil imports and the advantages of affordable, reliable energy to American manufacturing. … Unfortunately, things have changed.
U.S. Petroleum Markets – July Progress and a Potential Turning Point
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Dean Foreman
Posted August 21, 2020
We’re seeing cautious optimism in the news about oil markets, with crude’s comeback broadly continuing for a third consecutive month in July with the gradual re-opening of state economies. API’s Monthly Statistical Report (MSR) for August presents the latest details.
U.S. petroleum demand has clearly rebounded, albeit at a slowing growth rate. We see this as good news for staying on a positive track and reflective of progress made to overcome continued challenges with COVID-19.