API-Michigan releases report highlighting 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from increased use of natural gas

LANSING, February 27, 2019—Today, API Michigan released a new report, “Natural Gas and Oil Use in Michigan: Enhancing the Quality of Life for Michiganders,” analyzing the use of natural gas and oil in the Great Lakes State.

“Michigan is the ninth largest consumer of natural gas in the U.S., which has generated economic benefits for Michigan families and businesses and helped us cut CO2 emissions by over 25 percent between 2007 and 2017,” said Pete Langley, executive director of API-MI. “This report confirms what we in Michigan have known for a while about natural gas – that it’s helping our environment, it’s saving consumers money, and it’s keeping prices down for businesses operating in our state.”

Some highlights from the report are below:

• Michigan’s use of natural gas for power generation has increased 130 percent in the last ten years, helping Michigan cut CO2 emissions by over 25 percent between 2007 and 2017.
• Because of America’s energy revolution and falling natural gas prices, industrial consumers spent $558 million less in 2017 than they would have if prices had remained where they were in 2010. Residential and commercial consumers saved themselves $1.2 billion.
• Michigan natural gas and oil pipelines supported over 14,000 jobs and provided over $1 billion in labor income in 2015, while Enbridge, a major liquids pipeline operator in Michigan, paid nearly $8 million in salary to its Michigan-based employees and $60.8 million in property taxes.
• Michigan’s 1.07 trillion cubic feet of underground natural gas storage represents one-tenth of U.S. storage capability and the largest in the nation, providing gas for Michigan and neighboring states during cold weather periods of high demand and helping to keep prices low.
• Michigan consumed over 113 million barrels of motor gasoline in 2016, the eighth most in the country, and motor gasoline comprises about two-thirds of the petroleum products consumed in the state.

API-MI is a division of API, which represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry, which supports 10.3 million jobs and nearly 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 600 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 47 million Americans.

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