Morning Consult | Barry Russell | March 6, 2018
America’s energy producers are the backbone of our nation’s security and economic growth. Yet, as our country faces the considerable challenge of meeting our future energy needs, companies working day in and day out to provide these vital energy resources need a streamlined federal regulatory system to keep powering America.
As an industry, independent oil and natural gas companies are responsible for 54 percent of U.S. oil and 85 percent of U.S. natural gas production, supporting new job growth and economic development through critical capital investments and tax revenues in towns and states across the nation.
This economic activity has also propelled the United States to become a world leader in oil and natural gas production. As the International Energy Agency recently projected, “This year promises to be a record-setting one for the United States,” outpacing Russia and Saudi Arabia in production levels.
The United States is also on track to become a net energy exporter four years earlier than originally projected, according to the Department of Energy. This new paradigm gives us the opportunity to deliver reliable, affordable and clean-burning energy to our allies while supporting the economy here at home and strengthening our energy security.
Our country’s leading position among the world’s energy leaders is being amplified by officials in the Trump administration, who recognize the tremendous impacts independent producers are making and have encouraged continued economic growth within the energy sector by promoting infrastructure investment, streamlining permitting and re-evaluating production potential. But much of our nation’s energy potential remains untapped.
The economic resurgence of America’s oil and natural gas industry today is made possible by responsible, highly regulated exploration and production of our vital natural resources – development that occurs hand-in-hand with the protection of the environments we operate in. Be it offshore or on, America’s independent producers work every day to mitigate impacts on the land, invest in conservation and restoration, and implement new technological methods such as horizontal drilling that enables a softer footprint on the surface. This development needs sound oversight, not regulatory obstruction, and today in Washington, there is still much red tape to cut.
Read the full op-ed here.
Barry Russell is president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the leading national trade association of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies in the United States.
