New API Study Warns of Harmful Economic Consequences of Fracking Ban for American Families

WASHINGTON, February 27, 2020 — The American Petroleum Institute (API) today released a new economic analysis outlining the dire economic consequences of a ban on federal leasing and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) for American families and businesses. The technology has enabled the U.S. to become the world leader in energy production and emissions reductions.

The study – conducted by economic modeling firm OnLocation, Inc. – warns that banning federal leasing and fracking on public and private lands, which some presidential candidates have proposed, would cost up to 7.5 million American jobs in 2022 alone, lead to a cumulative GDP loss of $7.1 trillion by 2030, slash household incomes by $5,400 annually, increase household energy costs by more than $600 per year and reduce farm incomes by 43 percent due to higher energy costs. If a ban is enacted, the U.S. would flip from being a net exporter of oil and petroleum products to importing more than 40 percent of supplies by 2030.

“If I told you about a technology that would help the environment, that would help American consumers, would reduce our trade deficit and increase American jobs, I think most politicians would jump on that, not try to ban it,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said. “American families should be shocked to hear proposals from candidates for high office that would ban this transformative technology, which would erase a generation of American progress and return us to the days of heavy reliance on foreign energy. There is perhaps no better example that points to the stark contrast we see today in the debate over America’s energy future.”

American families would pay more under a fracking ban, according to the new analysis. On average, residential natural gas prices would increase 58 percent and electricity prices would average 20 percent higher per family annually. American farmers and manufacturers would also suffer, with the cost of wheat farming increasing 64 percent, cost of corn farming increasing 54 percent and cost of soybean farming increasing 48 percent, due to the impact of higher energy costs.

“You can’t eliminate the very technology that has enabled the American energy revolution without damaging economic consequences,” said Lessly Goudarzi, founder and CEO of OnLocation, Inc. “As our analysis shows, assuming a full ban on fracking would threaten a U.S. recession and force American consumers to rely more on foreign energy rather than energy produced here in the U.S.”

More than 95 percent of U.S. natural gas and oil wells today are developed using hydraulic fracturing. The study projected that states with the highest job losses if a fracking ban is enacted include Texas (1,103,000), California (765,000), Florida (711,000), Pennsylvania (551,000) and Ohio (500,000), for a total of 3.6 million job losses in those five states alone in 2022.

The study was developed based on the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s National Energy Modeling System (NF-NEMS), a well-known and vetted model used to build the U.S. Department of Energy’s Annual Energy Outlook. Vienna, Va. based OnLocation, Inc. used the integrated model to capture interactions of economic changes and energy supply, demand and prices based on economy-wide projections, examining the impact of a fracking ban not only in the energy sector but across all industries and households.

In addition to the study, API launched a new digital ad campaign highlighting the negative consequences of a fracking ban. Watch the ads here.

View a copy of the report here.

API represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry supports more than ten million U.S. jobs and is backed by a growing grassroots movement of millions of Americans. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization. In our first 100 years, API has developed more than 700 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

OnLocation is an independent analysis firm that uses quantitative methods to better inform business decisions and policy development at a wide variety of energy sector organizations, including government agencies, non-profit organizations, and energy-related businesses that represent a broad spectrum of interests.

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