Growing the economy with energy

Jack Gerard:

Each day brings a new round of sobering headlines about our economy and dire predictions of more to come. Each month, the unemployment rate inches upward as industry after industry sheds jobs and some businesses talk of bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, Americans look to a new administration and a new Congress for leadership on ways to get America working, producing and moving again. They demand solutions, not more of the partisan dithering that has passed for leadership in recent years.

America's oil and natural gas industry is prepared to be part of the solution with thousands of new jobs and billions more in government revenue — while providing the energy necessary to expand the economy. However, to be able to do that, the industry must be assured of expanded access to the country's much-needed oil and natural gas resources, both onshore and offshore.

A new study, prepared for the American Petroleum Institute by ICF International, shows that development of the resources currently off-limits to development could create more than 160,000 new jobs by 2030. That is on top of the more than 6 million jobs our industry already supports. Most are well-paying jobs and many are the type of "green" energy jobs policymakers are seeking to create.

In addition, opening up those areas that have been kept off-limits would generate $1.7 trillion in government revenue. Revenue from the development of all U.S. oil and natural gas resources on federal lands could exceed $4 trillion over the life of the resources. That revenue could help pay for the massive stimulus program to rebuild the nation's infrastructure proposed by President-elect Barack Obama to bring our country out of the recession.

Developing the offshore areas that had been subject to congressional moratoria, as well as the resources in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a small portion of unavailable federal lands in the Rockies, would lift U.S. crude oil production by as much as 2 million barrels per day in 2030, offsetting nearly a fifth of our imports. Natural gas production could increase by 5.34 billion cubic feet per day, the equivalent of 61 percent of the expected natural gas imports in 2030.

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If we can pry the Democrats fingers from the neck of domestic energy production, we can lower the price of energy, create jobs lower the funding of our enemies. I am not optimistic that the Democrats will permit this. Their policies have been to drive up the cost of energy in the hopes that magic energy will be competitive and replace carbon based energy. I think the carbon phobes are in control. This will mean a longer and deeper recession.