API Addresses Economic Club of Colorado, Underscores Importance of American Energy Leadership

DENVER, May 4, 2022 – American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers today addressed The Economic Club of Colorado and discussed the importance of American energy security during a critical moment in the nation’s history. Sommers discussed energy markets and offered recommendations to both federal and state policymakers to maintain and strengthen American energy leadership.

“If our country is going to live up to our billing as the world’s energy leader, then we can look to Colorado to see how it’s done,” Sommers said. “This state has been right in the middle of what we call the dual challenge – meeting America’s energy needs, and doing so safely and responsibly to protect the environment and build a lower-carbon future.”

Sommers called attention to the mixed messages being received by the industry from Washington and in state capitols across the country, including in Denver. “We can’t treat the oil and natural gas industry as a kind of light switch that is turned on or off to suit the political moment," Sommers said. "Production and delivery don’t work that way. Yet the overriding policy lately has been to cancel pipelines, block permits, and deny leases – all of which suppress needed investment.”

Colorado is America’s sixth-leading oil producer and seventh-leading natural gas producer. Yet the political and regulatory environment in the state has created additional barriers to production, despite Colorado voters recently demonstrating clear support for natural gas and oil development.

“For Colorado’s producers to do their part to help meet growing energy demand, regulatory and political certainty is a must,” Sommers said. “State policymakers can and should take action to ensure that Colorado operators can produce the natural gas and oil needed by American families, businesses, and America’s allies abroad.”

“This is an industry well-known and appreciated in Colorado. But I could also show you around places in Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Dakota, New Mexico, and elsewhere that have seen job growth and economic revival more durable and broad-based than anyone imagined was possible,” concluded Sommers. “That spreads out to parts and equipment suppliers, truckers, contractors, service providers, and on and on. We’re talking about a powerful engine with a history of prosperity and patriotism. And I would rather keep that engine running in America than anywhere else.”

API Colorado is a division of the American Petroleum Institute, which represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry. It's nearly 600 members produce, process and distribute the majority of the nation’s energy, and participate in API Energy Excellence®, which is accelerating environmental and safety progress by fostering new technologies and transparent reporting. API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability.

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Keynote Speech at Economic Club of Colorado – Mike Sommers

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