Let's Assert New American Energy Leadership

Mark Green
Posted June 29, 2022

For several months Washington policymakers have sent confusing signals on the present and future role of the natural gas and oil industry in American energy, the economy and national security. One minute they’re encouraging (even demanding) more American production, the next minute they’re pretty hostile toward the country’s leading energy sources.

Let’s replace confusion with coherence, starting with constructive engagement on how American energy can offer solutions on a number of the major issues facing the nation. Writing to President Biden last week, Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said America’s natural gas and oil industry needs an “honest dialogue on how to best balance energy, economic, and environmental objectives – one that recognizes our industry is a vital sector of the U.S. economy and is essential to our national security.”

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s meeting with leaders of the U.S. refinery sector last week was a positive discussion of how refineries can help address rising energy costs and create more certainty for global markets. But will there be follow-up positive statements and meetings? Will there be substantive engagement, strongly signaling that the natural gas and oil industry’s contributions are valued and merit support?

Frankly, all of the above are needed. Confusing signals from Washington have introduced doubt into energy planning and investment, which has complicated industry’s ability to further increase production. Darren Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and CEO, in a Financial Times interview:

“These are multibillion-dollars investments with long time horizons. How do you think about that with the uncertainty associated with the transition? That is a difficult balance to strike.”

API has offered a list of 10 actions policymakers could take right now to support American energy leadership. An open letter sent to the White House by API and 26 other energy trade associations urged President Biden to look to American energy solutions instead of foreign energy:

Before you board Air Force One for the Middle East, we hope you will consider taking another look at made-in-America energy. We would be honored to show you how our industry is involved in every step of the energy process, from fuel pumps to critical product delivery infrastructure to production zones across our vast nation.

First, come tour one of America’s refineries – currently operating at 94% of capacity, among the highest in the world – where the fuels are made to keep America’s 275 million registered vehicles running. America’s 125 refineries are producing more diesel (and renewable diesel), jet fuel, gasoline, and other refined product than at any point on average over the past five years.

Next, come visit Colonial Pipeline’s state-of-the-art command center, which controls the 5,500-mile critical infrastructure that safely carries millions of gallons of fuel products from Gulf Coast refineries through the South and up the East Coast every day.

Finally, join us in one of America’s major energy-producing areas – along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico; in Alaska, the Marcellus, the Permian or the Bakken basins; or even Kern County, Calif. – which together launched the American energy revolution that ended decades of U.S. energy scarcity and growing dependence on foreign governments.

The ongoing global energy crisis, which is being felt by American families and businesses, should draw a strong response from the world’s leading natural gas and oil producer, the United States. Lawrence Summers, U.S. Treasury secretary under President Obama, is among those who have urged Washington to be more supportive of American oil and natural gas. It’s past time for honest engagement between policymakers and the natural gas and oil industry – to meet the current energy crisis from the position of America’s energy strength. More from Wirth’s letter to the president:

[B]ringing prices down and increasing supply will require a change in approach. You have called on our industry to increase energy production. We agree. Let's work together. The U.S. energy sector needs cooperation and support from your Administration for our country to return to a path toward greater energy security, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. … The American people rightly expect our country’s leaders and industry to address the challenges they are facing in a serious and resolute manner. We are a willing partner in that endeavor and trust your Administration will be the same.

As the API-led industry letter asserts, American-made energy holds the key to helping American families and businesses, boosting the economy, and helping tackle inflation. Let’s end the confusion and work together for those benefits.