Energy Tomorrow Blog
Despite Challenges of 2020, U.S. Boosts its Energy Security
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Dean Foreman
Posted December 11, 2020
Despite the 2020 COVID-19 recession, the U.S. has reached milestones for energy security and trade, including its lowest imports of crude oil and reliance on OPEC in nearly three decades.
Achieving the milestones this year has enabled the U.S. to be on track to become a net exporter of petroleum and total energy on an annual basis for the first time in more than 60 years. At the same time, U.S. refiners have increasingly leveraged domestically-produced energy, ultimately benefiting households through lower spending on energy.
In short, record productivity has enabled abundant domestic oil and natural gas supplies, amped-up U.S. energy exports and displaced foreign energy imports to the benefit of American consumers. This is the backdrop for the imminent change of U.S. administration, as well as a heightened focus on U.S. energy security – see here and here – even though petroleum products and natural gas have remained abundant and at historically low prices.
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.
Election’s Dynamics Point to Policies That Sustain U.S. Energy Leadership
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Mark Green
Posted December 3, 2020
Post-election analysis says that the U.S. electorate is mostly moderate and expects moderate, sensible policy positions – an important point as Team Biden assembles and a new Congress prepares to convene.
There’s this from veteran Democratic pollster Mark Penn in the Wall Street Journal: The nation is largely moderate, practical and driven by common sense over ideology. … The message from the voters is that we are not divided into two extreme camps. Rather, they are more centrist in nature and outlook, and that a president who governs too far to the right or left is likely to be left behind in the next election.
And Daily Beast columnist Matt Lewis: If Biden wants to keep his winning streak alive, he will keep running the same winning play that got him this far: He will run right down the middle.
On energy, right down the middle, practical and common sense is best for the country’s energy security, economy and environmental protection. This acknowledges the primary role the U.S. energy revolution – made possible by safe, modern hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies – has played in fundamentally changing the trajectory for U.S. security, global energy leadership, economic growth and emissions reduction.
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.The Administration’s Misstep on Eastern Gulf, South Atlantic Offshore Policy
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Mark Green
Posted September 14, 2020
A national policy that puts U.S. energy off-limits to development would have serious negative impacts for our nation’s security, jobs, the economy and household budgets. As argued in this post, proponents of policies that ban new natural gas and oil development on federal lands and waters have a lot of explaining to do.
This includes former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party Platform, which both pledge to effectively end new federal natural gas and oil development.
Unfortunately, it also includes the White House, which announced this week that there will be no offshore oil and natural gas development in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic going forward, into the year 2032.
This is wrong for U.S. energy, wrong for American security, wrong for jobs and wrong for economic growth.
Energy and Our Security
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Mark Green
Posted August 28, 2020
Americans’ safety and security are critically linked to energy.
Whether it’s energy to power a growing economy or energy that keeps America free and strong in the world – and even reliable energy in the wake of a Category 4 hurricane – abundant domestic natural gas and oil are essential for our security. ...
Abundant and reliable natural gas and oil from America make the country safer and more secure in a number of ways.
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.
OPEC+ Turmoil Underscores Need for U.S. Oil Diplomacy
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Mark Green
Posted April 5, 2020
Although OPEC+ has delayed a planned meeting Monday to address differences between leading members Russia and Saudi Arabia, there were encouraging signals from the White House after the president’s meeting with a number of natural gas and oil industry leaders, including API President and CEO Mike Sommers.
The continuing oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, which has the two nations increasing production amid a slump in world oil demand, is broadly concerning. The administration is correct to focus strong diplomacy on finding a resolution, the urgency of which is underscored by the postponement of Monday’s OPEC+ meeting.
The best message from the White House is what’s not on the table: additional U.S. production cuts. As the president said, the global oversupply problem has been worsened by the Russian and Saudi production increases, and those countries bear the responsibility of changing their policies.
Keystone XL's Construction is Good for U.S., U.S. Energy
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Mark Green
Posted April 2, 2020
TC Energy’s announcement that it will proceed with building the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline is a big deal in terms of vital energy for America, jobs, economic growth and North American security. The 1,210-mile pipeline – able to safely deliver 830,000 barrels per day from Canada’s oil sands region in Alberta to the U.S. heartland – figures to be a significant, long-awaited progress toward helping secure this country’s future energy needs.
I say “long-awaited” because my first API writing assignment was about the KXL – nearly nine years ago!
Over that time the pipeline became a political football – a debate in which the basic facts were mostly incontestable: thousands of good jobs during KXL’s construction, tens of millions of dollars in property and income tax revenues to different levels of government and no significant effect on the climate or environment, according to the U.S. State Department, which conducted six comprehensive scientific reviews.
Innovative Technologies Give Energy Operators Staying Power
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Sam Winstel
Posted March 31, 2020
Despite challenging public health, geopolitical and economic circumstances, the U.S. energy industry remains positioned at the leading edge of technology and innovation. Historically, America’s natural gas and oil companies have overcome unexpected and uncertain events with safe, reliable and resilient operations – and gone on to play an important role in rebuilding the domestic economy and strengthening national security.
And there’s evidence this will happen again. That’s why we’ve said, don’t bet against this industry.
Mark Mills, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote recently that today’s industrial digital technologies could help us weather this market downturn and eventually access more of our abundant energy resources.