State of American Energy 2022: Progress is Made in America

Three big themes in?remarks?today by API President and CEO Mike Sommers at the?2022 State of American Energy:

• The American natural gas and oil industry has been, is and will continue to be a force for good in our country and around the world.
• The dual challenge of delivering the needed energy while also protecting the environment is doable.
• Industry is taking responsible action on climate – now.

Hard-earned gains … concerning headwinds

Sommers?said?the American energy revolution of the past decade or so – with technology and innovation dramatically increasing domestic natural gas and oil production – has transformed the United States from chronic dependency on foreign energy sources to a position of?global energy leadership.

Abundant and reliable American energy means that as America meets multiple challenges, it does so from a position of strength. Though our collective memory sometimes is short, recall that as recently as 15 years ago, virtually every issue Americans faced, at home and abroad, came with the nagging question: Where will the energy come from to do what needs to be done?

Today, there are significant challenges, yet because of American natural gas and oil and a technologically advanced, vigorous industry (see the?2022 State of American Energy report), Americans can focus on actions and solutions. Sommers:

“The work we do is crucial, essential and consequential. Our country continues to grapple with uncertainty – a pandemic, a short-term crisis in the supply chain and a quest to spur growth without accelerating inflation. But here’s one thing we know for sure: The path to American prosperity, security and progress must include American natural gas and oil.”

Our industry is strong, yet energy policy shifts in Washington in 2021 brought impediments to energy development: pipelines canceled or blocked, restricted access to resources and punitive, investment-chilling proposals to raise taxes on the industry. Amid rising pump prices last summer, the administration begged OPEC+ to more rapidly increase its production – even as the administration’s actions hindered American production.

Though there have been encouraging steps from the administration recently, Sommers said, these kinds of policy decisions exacerbate Americans’ concerns. He added:

“America should not be in the position of asking for foreign energy supplies, especially when we have abundant resources produced to standards that are among the highest in the world, right here at home. Instead, we should be leading, as the world’s top producer of natural gas and oil.”

Meeting the dual challenge

Attempts by some to retreat on American energy development and the American progress it empowers – constricting access to resources, blocking or slow-walking permits and/or preventing new infrastructure – are a path to renewed, potentially dangerous dependency on foreign suppliers.

We think otherwise. America has what it takes to successfully advance on two, intertwined fronts: providing reliable energy and reducing emissions. We can do both at the same time – and it’s essential that policies support that approach. Sommers:

“Nothing is more essential to economic growth than reliable, affordable and abundant energy. To lose that advantage is not in anybody’s best interest. And so, we make our case to everyone, working with both political parties in Congress and across all 50 states.”

Meanwhile, industry has been proactive in improving the environmental performance of its operations and products – doing our work using a smaller surface footprint, maintaining a?clear focus on reducing emissions, constantly developing cleaner fuels, supporting the growth of?carbon capture, utilization and storage?(CCUS) technology on a commercial scale and more. Sommers:

“Responsible environmental practice is a shared value in this country and our industry. It is what Americans expect, and it's what we expect of ourselves. And we do more than support key environmental objectives. In many cases, such as carbon capture, we have created and are providing the very technologies that make progress possible.”

?Advancing climate goals

America’s natural gas and oil industry is essential in the national climate discussion and a key player in developing climate solutions. Last year API announced support for regulating methane from new and existing sources, and Sommers noted industry’s desire to partner with the administration in putting together workable regulation.

Also last year, API released its?Climate Action Framework, detailing five pillar elements for achieving meaningful results: strengthen emissions reductions in the industry and across the U.S. economy; speed development of cleaner fuels; drive climate reporting to provide consistency and transparency; support economywide carbon pricing mechanisms; and development of lower-carbon technologies at commercial scale – again, such as CCUS. Sommers:

“We share with global leaders the goal and urgency of reduced emissions across the broader economy and, specifically, those from energy production, transportation and use by society. Our industry brings the scale and expertise to make a lower-carbon future a reality. This is about addition, not subtraction. America needs all the reliable, affordable, lower-carbon energy we can get. And we’re working to bring carbon capture to commercial scale so that America can more quickly achieve its emissions reductions targets – this industry is making it happen.”?

Call to policymakers

We’ve come far as an industry and as a country – and there’s more work to do. Sommers said the president, Congress and lawmakers in all 50 states should act:

• Collaborate?– Develop public-private partnerships, incorporate innovation and using the scale and expertise of industry to build a lower-carbon future.
• Prioritize American energy leadership?– Encourage safe and responsible American energy development. International Energy Agency?scenarios?for the world’s 2050 energy mix show natural gas and oil supplying roughly half of the world’s energy; keeping U.S. energy strong is smart for America’s standing in the world and America’s security.
• Regulate?– Craft policies that increase certainty, free up private investment and build on and incorporate technological progress already under way.

Sommers:

“Ours is an industry that welcomes partnership and collaboration and is problem solving at its core. … [O]ur industry is filled with the exact kind of people needed to solve the greatest scientific challenges of our time. Engineers, geologists, scientists and researchers – we all share this same goal and are neck-deep in solving these challenges. Together, let’s lead the future with progress, made here in America.”

About The Author

Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.