natural gas
A season of paradox
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
Folks living within a vast swath of the eastern United States had their festive plans for caroling and last-minute holiday shopping disrupted over the weekend by the biggest snow storm in years. In many regions like the greater Washington D.C. area, the storm shattered old records for December snowfall … and winter hadn’t even officially begun yet.
The blizzard, combined with the sub-freezing temperatures, all but promises a white Christmas in regions hit by the storm.
Of course, snow days and sledding and cozy times together by an indoor fireplace come along with treacherous roads and driveways that need to be shoveled and the high heating bills required to keep everyone warm inside.
And this year, as people brace for those wintertime heating bills, they’ll be chagrined to discover that the soft economy has done little to lower the cost of keeping their homes warm. It’s an ongoing paradox we’ve discussed here before: how the normal rules of supply and demand don’t really apply when the product in question comes from overseas sources that have their own way of artificially controlling pricing.
Last summer, we discussed how oil prices were rising despite soft demand and swelling inventories. This winter, prepare for more of the same. We’re approaching our third straight year of economic downturn, and supplies of heating oil are overflowing, so much so that the early snowy cold spell isn’t expected to make much of a dent. Still, many forecasts show consumers paying more for their heating oil this year than they did in 2008 – when, by the way, it was hardly cheap.
Low demand and high prices: It’s a paradox indeed, but it’s not a mystery. Heating oil prices rise when crude oil prices rise. And here in the U.S., crude prices rise for all sorts of reasons, usually reasons that have little to do with supply or demand, or even the weather. Like so much of the oil we consume, the explanation for those persistently high winter heating prices is located far from home.
Wishing you a warm holiday.
Tags: CEA, Consumer Energy Alliance, domestic energy, energy prices, energy security, energy supply, natural gas, oil
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Old, but not over the hill
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Here’s an important detail about the strength of our domestic oil industry that is often lost in the larger debate over opening more of the country to drilling and exploration: Yields are up at many existing oil fields.
The American Petroleum Institute reported this week that U.S. crude oil production reached a four-year high in October, due largely to the success of advanced drilling technologies that have helped improve yields in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.
It’s a milestone that is important for a number of reasons. It shows that the oil sector is inventive and enterprising, constantly adopting new techniques that will improve on the existing way of doing business.
These high yields, mind you, are coming from some not-so-young properties, at a time when critics maintain that oil is past its prime, and past its peak. And they beg the question, if oil producers can increase yields from existing properties, what might they be able to achieve on a spanking new field in one of the disputed sites around the country?
The 5.36 million barrels of crude oil per day that were produced during the month of October offer strong evidence in favor of additional drilling around the country. It’s a strong level of production that suggests that additional exploration has a high likelihood of success, and also that the producers overseeing the drilling would make the most of each project, just like they are doing at older fields. It flies in the face of the notion that the oil industry favors drilling with abandon, or only wants to break ground on new sites because all of the older ones have dried up. Rather, it reflects a long-term commitment to each and every project.
The debates over new drilling around the country may take a long time to resolve. But it’s nice to know that oil producers are keeping busy while they wait.
Tags: CEA, Consumer Energy Alliance, domestic energy, drilling, energy policy, energy prices, energy supply, natural gas, offshore, oil
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Don’t forget Alaska’s natural gas
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
We’ve all seen the signs: This bus runs on clean natural gas. Yet too often, too many of us fail to absorb the message: There are fossil fuels in abundant supply right in our country that, if properly developed, could reduce the need for foreign fuel and at the same time give environmentalists something to brag about.
That’s right, brag. Natural gas is such a clean-burning fuel that cities all over the country have invested in public buses and municipal fleets that run on natural gas, and then they advertise what they’re done.
Why then, is the debate over new oil and natural gas exploration in Alaska typically, and incorrectly, cast as a battle between people who love the environment and people who love oil? Perhaps a better question is, Why do the oil and natural gas interests that support more exploration in Alaska allow the opponents to frame the public debate that way?
CEA has often detailed why strong domestic oil and natural gas industries are critical to our energy independence, our economy and, yes, our environment. But for a moment, let’s just focus on the natural gas part of the puzzle. Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf, in addition to being rich in oil, holds an estimated 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
In a recent editorial, Drue Pearce, the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, grouped Arctic natural gas with wind, solar and geothermal power, as power sources that existed in abundant supply that could help the country achieve a more balanced energy policy.
It’s a message we’d all need to remember: In Alaska, and elsewhere in the U.S., we’re seeking the right to explore for and produce oil as well as natural gas. We need to remind people that natural gas is a clean-burning fuel that could help us collectively reduce emissions … and that there’s plenty of it right here at home.
Tags: Alaska, Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, CEA, Consumer Energy Alliance, natural gas
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CEA October 2009 Newsletter
Friday, September 25th, 2009
CEA Newsletter
Issue 31
Message from CEA President David Holt
September 21st marked the close of a nationwide public comment period by the Federal Government that allowed Americans to have their voices heard in the vital debate regarding development of U.S. offshore resources, including oil, natural gas and wind projects.
Though naysayers have received prominent placement in recent media reports, the real winners here are the overwhelming numbers of Americans who stood tall in favor of reasonable and responsible development of America’s offshore areas.
More than 360,000 positive comments were received by the government supporting a new 5-Year Plan for the development of resources off of America’s coastlines. This number, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the total comments received, sends a strong message to elected officials in Washington: Americans want more American energy.
Throughout the comment period, CEA stood strong in our support of offshore oil & gas drilling, as well as offshore alternative energy development. Working with our valued affiliates and individual consumers like you, CEA implemented a major campaign to get the word out about the importance of this effort and encourage Americans to comment and contribute to the discussion.
The tremendous results in favor of offshore development speak volumes. Washington has heard what you have to say. Your voice has made a difference in shaping American energy policy and will assist in leading the United States on a path of domestic energy development that will be good for the economy, Americans and the country.
CEA recognizes your hard work and we thank you for being part of our efforts to empower America! We consider you an essential part of our alliance and look forward to continuing to work with you to do what’s right for America and its citizens.
Yet, the work is not over. As we move forward from this great victory, CEA remains dedicated to working toward a national energy policy that fully leverages America’s abundant energy resources into new jobs, revenue and security for American energy consumers.
As part of this effort, please take part in our nationwide educational campaign – Secure Our Fuels, which highlights the damaging economic effects associated with the national Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) currently being considered by Congress. For more information on the Secure Our Fuels campaign, click here.
Again, thank you and congratulations! With your help, the tides are turning.
David Holt
President
Help Defeat Efforts to Ban North American Energy and Increase Prices at the Pump!
The Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is being sold to the American public as a way to blend transportation fuels with low-carbon alternatives so that tailpipe CO2 emissions can be reduced. But the fact is that affordable and reliable lower-carbon fuel options are not yet available. As a result, an LCFS simply will increase the cost of diesel fuel and gasoline and will place certain domestic supplies of transportation fuels off limits. Increasing the cost of transportation fuel and U.S. dependence upon foreign sources of petroleum is simply unsound energy policy.
Join our effort to defeat these measures, which would put an economic stranglehold on America and leave U.S. consumers stuck with higher prices at the pump. Send in your comments today!
Support Development of Alaska’s Offshore Oil & Gas Resources!
At a time when the American public is crying out for more domestic energy, Alaska has enormous untapped oil and gas potential, especially in its offshore areas. The waters off Alaska’s coasts hold about 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to federal government estimates.
To begin producing energy from these resource basins, the federal government must take action. Join us in our effort as we build public support for offshore minerals exploration and development in Alaska. Send in your comments today!
CEA Welcomes New Affiliate Members
CEA is proud to announce the addition of the many new affiliate members who have joined our alliance in recent months: Amway, Applied Fiber Manufacturing, LLC, EarthQuest Institute, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Mississippi, The Fertilizer Institute, New England Fuel Institute and Santa Barbara County Energy Coalition. For a complete list of CEA’s valued affiliates, click here.
CEA Blog: Silent majorities and dressing for success
Check out CEA’s recent blog entry about the overwhelming amount of public support for developing America’s offshore energy resources, recently brought to light by the federal government’s collection of public comments on the issue. Join the conversation at CEA’s website. Read blog…
Consumer Corner: Tell Us How Energy Affects YOU!
Energy issues are important to all Americans – and they should be – because they affect all aspects of everyday life, including your businesses, your household costs and your free-time expenditures!
When you drive your kids to school in the morning or board an airplane for a vacation flight, you are affected by the energy policies that government officials in Washington put in place. Access to American energy resources affects your weekly grocery bill, how much you pay at the gas pump, your heating and cooling costs, the business decisions you make – every part of your life!
CEA wants to know your thoughts about how energy affects you. Share your energy story with CEA by sending an e-mail to info@consumerenergyalliance.org. We want to hear from YOU!
Wind Energy Could Cut Emissions in China By 30 Percent, Study Asserts
Switching to wind power for electricity needs could cut China’s emissions by 30 percent over the next 20 years, according to a recent study. Read article…
Venezuela and Russia Develop As “Comrades-In-Arms-And-Oil”
Ties between Russia and Venezuela are steadily growing stronger with increased economic development schemes, including energy and weaponry deals, between the two countries. Read article…
Affiliate Spotlight: Agriculture Energy Alliance
As farmers and agribusinesses face a looming crisis because of public policies that create demand for natural gas while restricting access to supply sources, the Agriculture Energy Alliance, which represents more than 100 growers and agriculture-related business, works to inform and educate Congress, the Administration and state-elected officials about the energy challenges facing the agricultural sector.
“The U.S. farm sector is being weakened by constraints on onshore and offshore natural gas development, even as global demand for food is growing every year,” says Coordinator for the Agriculture Energy Alliance Rosemary O’Brien, who also serves as Vice President of Public Affairs at CF Industries.
To address these concerns, AEA encourages elected and appointed officials to continue the good work begun in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and take further measures to reduce natural gas demand and increase natural gas supply.
“By increasing domestic natural gas production, we increase our food security,” explains O’Brien.
Ensuring the stable development of American natural gas resources is essential to maintaining a successful agricultural economy, according to O’Brien, because the farm sector depends on significant use of natural gas for food processing, irrigation, crop drying, heating farm buildings and homes, crop protection chemicals and nitrogen fertilizer production.
“With wise development and utilization of our own national energy resources, Congress can help ensure that farming remains an economically viable occupation,” she emphasizes.
As a member of Consumer Energy Alliance, AEA’s goal is to join with other like-minded groups to work on energy policy, specifically access to U.S. offshore production.
“CEA presented opportunities to work with a larger coalition and to enhance our policy goals in a very positive way,” O’Brien notes. “We have been excited to work with CEA since their leadership has shown creativity, enthusiasm and focus on complex energy policy issues.
“CEA is the type of group AEA likes to associate itself with as perseverance and working on shared goals is the only way to accomplish results. In short, CEA is solution-oriented. We work well with CEA, and we appreciate the quality of advice and input we receive from them and their collaborative efforts on behalf of their coalition.”
For more information on the Agriculture Energy Alliance, visit www.agenergyalliance.com.
Affiliate News: National Oilheat Summit Sees Bright Future For Industry
NEFI joined nearly every national, regional and state oilheat industry association, along with various industry leaders, for a national oilheat industry policy summit in Baltimore, MD on Tuesday, September 15th. The big news coming out of the summit – these various oilheat stakeholders are joining together to pursue a brave new future for the industry and its consumers.
Those attending the summit overwhelmingly approved a statement encouraging Congress and appropriate state bodies to help the industry move towards a “leaner, greener and cleaner” new product through adoption of an ultra low sulfur standard and expanded use of bio components. The group also embraced solar technology as a key component of the overall industry effort to lower the carbon intensity of heating oil applications.
The summit also heard many presentations on the benefits of pursuing a lower sulfur bio-blended product, supplemented with solar technology, as well as how best to “tell the story” nationwide. “It is an exciting time for the industry,” said Peter Carini (NEFI-member) of Champion Energy, New York, which was echoed by Robert Boltz of Pennsylvania, NEFI member Jim Townsend of Townsend Oil, and Don Allen of E.T. Lawson of Virginia, the moderator for the summit. He added: “As an industry, we face many challenges, but most of them can be met if we embrace this exciting opportunity to create a new product that will be environmentally responsible and competitive, ensuring that our industry is part of the solution to the energy, security and climate change challenges that face our Nation.”
Over 80 industry representatives participated in the Summit.
Affiliate News: NSBA Report Shows On-Bill Financing Improves Energy Efficiency
On September 16, 2009, the National Small Business Association released a report showing that small business collectively could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 259 million tons each year if they improved their energy efficiency by just 25 percent. The report, “On-Bill Financing: Helping Small Business Reduce Emissions and Energy Use While Improving Profitability,” goes on to highlight the significant savings small businesses stand to achieve through on-bill financing.
“This report obliterates that old paradigm that environmental conservation is anathema to economic growth,” said NSBA President Todd McCracken. “Quite simply, small businesses can increase their profitability while reducing their carbon footprint.”
On-bill financing is a mechanism that enables small businesses to work with their utility company to improve their energy efficiency. In practice, a local utility company identifies a small business with potential savings and evaluates their energy use and the company’s financial stability. The utility company then extends a low- or no-interest loan to the small business to make energy-efficient upgrades. The small-business owner repays the loan by continuing to pay the average monthly bill and any money paid in excess of what their actual costs are will go directly to pay down the loan.
Currently implemented in several states, on-bill financing programs have made thousands of loans to small businesses with unparalleled success. According to the report, energy-efficiency programs such as on-bill financing can help the average small business save $4,932—and oftentimes more—every year on its energy bills. The report also makes recommendations on how the federal government can help facilitate additional on-bill financing programs.
“The number one reason small-business owners cite for their inability to make their firms more energy efficient is cash-flow,” stated Keith Ashmus, NSBA chair and co-founding partner at Frantz Ward LLP, Cleveland, Ohio. “Programs such as on-bill financing can eliminate this very significant barrier many small businesses simply can’t overcome.”
NSBA has long held the belief that energy efficiency and entrepreneurial growth can and do go hand-in-hand. The current state of the U.S. economy makes it absolutely crucial to have government policies that foster, not hinder, entrepreneurial growth. With 29.6 million small firms—comprising 99.7 percent of all U.S. employer firms—small businesses stand to make significant, positive and lasting improvements to both the economy and the environment.
This report was sponsored by NSBA with funding from the Bipartisan Policy Center. Please click here to access the full report.
Since 1937, NSBA has advocated on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. A staunchly nonpartisan organization, NSBA reaches more than 150,000 small businesses nationwide and is proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. For more information, please visit www.nsba.biz
Tags: 5-Year plan, Agriculture Energy Alliance, American energy, CEA, CEA Monthly, CEABlog, Consumer Energy Alliance, David Holt, energy, gasoline, Minerals Management Service, MMS, natural gas, newsletter, ocs, October 2009, offshore, oil, Outer Continental Shelf, resource development, Russia, Venezuela, wind
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Key Lawmakers, Upstate Business Community, Energy Producers Join SEA in Unveiling New Offshore Energy Development Report
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
As South Carolina continues to face double-digit unemployment, new report confirms environmentally sound offshore energy production would create 2,250 jobs in the Palmetto State and $45 billion in government revenues
Greenville/Spartanburg, SC – Offshore exploration and production in the waters off South Carolina could generate up to $250 million annually in revenue share payments and would create approximately 2,250 jobs in the Palmetto State, according to a report released today at a press conference by the Southeast Energy Alliance (SEA). SEA is an alliance of manufacturers, agriculture stakeholders and other energy consumers organized to support the thoughtful utilization of energy resources to help ensure improved domestic and global energy security and stable prices for consumers.
“This report highlights a tremendous economic opportunity for South Carolina,” said Michael Whatley, executive director of SEA. “In addition to creating thousands of high-paying jobs and providing substantial benefits to the state’s struggling economy, offshore exploration and production will generate significant revenues for state and local governments.”
The report, which was distributed at press conferences in Greenville and Spartanburg this morning, details the benefits associated with offshore energy exploration, including the potential for federal revenue sharing, job creation, 21st century technologies, economic growth and potential revenues if it chooses to explore for energy along its Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) miles offshore.
Monies received from potential revenue sharing could ease future budget gaps, helping to meet critical health care needs, fund conservation banking, and support key infrastructure and educational projects. These funds could also ease the state tax burden for South Carolinians.
Harry Cato, Speaker Pro Tempore of the South Carolina House of Representatives, said “This report does not come as a surprise. We have the energy resources offshore, the workforce and the technology to help deliver a genuine economic stimulus to our state. At a time when jobs and economic development are most needed in South Carolina, we cannot afford to turn our backs on offshore energy that can be produced safely and effectively.”
The Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President, John DeWorken, also weighed in, stating “The Upstate business community continues to fight to ensure South Carolina is a better, fairer, and more attractive place to do business. To reduce the high unemployment rate throughout South Carolina, the state needs to support opening access to the energy reserves off our coast. Offshore exploration and production will create jobs, drive down energy prices and give our state a competitive edge.”
Hank McCullough, community relations manager at Piedmont Natural Gas Company – which delivers energy to one million customers in North and South Carolina and Tennessee – added “Delivering affordable and reliable energy to consumers and small businesses throughout the region is a mission we take very seriously. And the more energy that South Carolinians have access to, the less that families and our region’s businesses will ultimately have to pay to keep our economy moving. Technologies today are safer and more efficient than ever to produce, transport and distribute energy to the folks that rely on it every day to heat their homes, do their jobs, and keep their business healthy and profitable.”
According to the report, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) maps and OCS assessments show that South Carolina’s adjacent waters, which comprise approximately 10 percent of the total Atlantic resource base, are projected to contain as much as 750 million barrels of oil and 6.65 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Exploration and production in the waters off of South Carolina’s coast would generate $413 million in increased GDP and nearly $45 billion in government revenues.
Additionally, South Carolina could receive millions in potential revenue share payments. Currently, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas receive 37.5 percent of the revenues collected by the federal government for offshore energy production. Onshore states, such as Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, receive 50 percent of the royalties collected for energy development on federal lands. If the Gulf Coast revenue sharing program was extended to the Atlantic Coast, exploration and production off South Carolina’s coast could generate up to $250 million annually in state revenue share proceeds.
NOTE: To view this report’s executive summary, click HERE. To view the full report, click HERE.
Southeast Energy Alliance is a regional chapter of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA). CEA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports the thoughtful utilization of energy resources to help ensure improved domestic and global energy security and stable prices for consumers. We seek to help improve consumer understanding of our nation’s energy security, including the need to reduce reliance on imported oil and natural gas, maintain reasonable energy prices for consumers, properly balance our energy needs with environmental & conservation goals and continue efforts to diversify our energy resources.
Tags: CEA, Consumer Energy Alliance, natural gas, offshore energy, oil, SEA, South Carolina, Southeast Energy Alliance
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Wasn’t the world supposed to have run out of oil by now?
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Anyone who has been filling up at the pump for a while understands that oil prices often appear to defy logic. They may rise during recessions, and then, just when everyone is convinced the world is running out of oil, they fall dramatically – like they did at the end of last summer’s run.
This does not mean that there are no economic explanations behind oil price swings, just that they tend to be a lot more intricate than even many serious economists appreciate.
Certainly, if the world were about to run out of oil, we’d all be paying a lot more at the pump: oil prices would not just be volatile, they’d be moving higher and higher. You can only skirt the laws of supply and demand for so long.
Still, the theory of Peak Oil persists. For practical purposes, this is not just the argument that oil is finite in supply and will at some point run out; it’s the theory that that time is either upon us, or has already passed, and that the world is already well on its way to a point where there will be No. More. Oil.
Let’s suppose you know nothing about would oil supply and all the new and improved methods for extracting oil that have led to production in many places that were once not considered feasible. You’d probably still find it curious that inflation-adjusted oil prices today are lower than they were 30 years ago, if indeed the world had already passed its peak supply. The world, in other words, is not anywhere close to peak oil.
There’s recently been some badly-needed discussion dousing water on the notion of peak oil. This New York Times op-ed says that those who promote the idea of peak oil base their conclusions on “anecdotal information, vague references and ignorance of how the oil industry goes about finding fields and extracting petroleum.”
New, more sophisticated extraction methods do not just improve production volumes on the margin. A consensus of geologists now place the world’s reserves of recoverable oil at ten trillion barrels, some eight trillion more than what the peak oil folks say. The fact that scientists with a deep understanding of how oil gets out of the ground believe there is that much oil yet to be produced, points the flimsy science on which so much peak oil fear mongering has been based.
But just assume, for a moment, that all the most optimistic estimates of reserves are the correct ones and that the world has so much oil that conservation is not necessary, even as rapid development in India and China leads to explosive growth in demand. Just because we don’t need to conserve doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. Just because we may not, from a supply perspective, need to invest in alternative sources of energy, doesn’t mean those investments are for naught.
Debunking the notion of peak oil is important for all sorts of reasons, and should help pave the way for a more honest discussion of energy policy. But this “discovery” of new oil should not be taken as a reason to consume with abandon.
For one thing, there’s still that pesky matter of where the oil comes from, and the problems of being dependent on overseas sources.
Reaching agreement on world reserves should also be seen as a means to work toward more price stability. Understanding that sudden price spikes are not the result of a worldwide shortage, should help policy makers better address the real causes of this volatility.
Tags: CEA, Consumer Energy Alliance, energy prices, gasoline, natural gas, oil, price at the pump
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Alaska by numbers
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Advocates of increased domestic drilling have enough important battles brewing in the country’s lower 48 states to keep them busy. But it is important that we don’t inadvertently overlook Alaska, or dismiss it as a region where drilling is alive and well.
In some respects, drilling is alive and well in Alaska. The state accounts for almost 15% of total U.S. production and the Alaska Pipeline Service Company says it transports some 730,000 barrels per day.
But production is way down from its peak and the current capacity on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is less than half the 2.1 million barrels per day shipped in 1988. This diminished capacity flies in the face of abundant reserves. The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS), which tends to err on the conservative side, estimates that there are some 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the waters off the coast of Alaska. That’s just about a third of all the oil estimated to lie beneath all the country’s offshore waters.
Oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico got some good news last month when a U.S. appeals court clarified an earlier decision and ruled that oil and gas projects initiated under the Bush Administration could go forward as planned. But that ruling left projects in Alaska’s Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering Seas in limbo. Although the federal government last year awarded $2.6 billion in leases in Alaska, those projects remain on hold, pending the resolution of some frivolous lawsuits.
Some of the country’s contested oil production sites would add incrementally to the domestic energy supply, and these incremental improvements are definitely worth pursuing, both for conventional and alternative sources of power. However the reserves in Alaska are so vast, they hold the collective potential to be a real game changer, helping the U.S. significantly reduce the oil it imports from overseas. The Chukchi Sea is considered the most underdeveloped source of offshore petroleum in the U.S.
One study by the University of Alaska estimated that Alaska’s outer continental shelf could produce nearly 1.8 million barrels a day, or 300,000 thousands barrels per day more than what we currently import from Saudi Arabia. The same study estimates there is enough natural gas in those waters to produce 13% of total U.S. demand.
It goes without saying that increased oil and natural gas production would create thousands of new jobs. Another important wrinkle in the case for more exploration and drilling in Alaska is that the Trans Alaska Pipeline System depends on it. Without the addition of new oil from Alaska’s coastal waters TAPS’ capacity could decline to the point that, by the year 2046, it could no longer be viable.
There may not be a quick resolution to the disputed leases in Alaska, but it is critical that we remain focused on this oil-rich region and continue a grassroots campaign to put pressure on lawmakers to make the decision that is right for the country’s energy security and its economy. The recent favorable rulings covering Gulf drilling show that these efforts do not go unnoticed. The Call to Action section of CEA’s Web site details why a strong domestic oil sector is critical. When writing to your Congressional representatives, feel free to use any of the attached text, or make the case in our own words. And thank you for all your help so far. It has made all the difference.
Tags: Alaska, alternative energy development, Consumer Energy Alliance, jobs, MMS, natural gas, ocs, offshore, oil, pipeline, revenue, TAPS
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One year later, a nation still waits for home-grown oil
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
July 14, 2008 should have been an historic day. One year ago today, President Bush lifted an 18-year-old ban on offshore drilling in most of the country’s outer continental shelf (OCS). It was a milestone in the country’s longstanding desire to break its addiction to foreign oil by allowing more responsible production at home.
But today, July 14, 2009, not only is there no new drilling activity, but there are troubling signs that our country is moving in the opposite direction, restricting more land and offshore sites than ever before.
A couple of things have happened in the weeks and months since the OCS ban was lifted. First, a severe economic downturn resulted in the highest unemployment in a generation, diminished corporate profits, and widespread failures of small businesses that could no longer make ends meet. And then, at a time when everyone desperately needed a collective break just to get by, lawmakers put up a series of new barriers destined to put the country right back on the old, unsustainable path of buying increasing volumes of fuel from overseas.
This past February, Interior secretary Ken Salazar rescinded 77 leases that had already been awarded on energy-rich land in Utah and shut down an oil shale leasing program that had been focused on cleaner, more efficient ways to tap vast U.S. shale reserves.
A policy of restricting so much domestic oil production was never logical, but in the current environment it is downright foolhardy. The government is pumping hundreds of billions of stimulus dollars into the economy, but cutting off one of our most pervasive industries.
Today, House Ranking Member Doc Hastings along with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Tom Pyle, who heads the Institute for Energy Research will hold a press conference on Capitol Hill to call attention to this lack of progress over the past year.
The event begins at 11 a.m. For more information about this important event, contact Congressman Hastings’ office at (202) 226-2311.
Tags: CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, congress, Consumer Energy Alliance, Consumer Energy Issues, Department of the Interior, drilling ban, energy, energy policy, energy prices, energy supply, exploration, foreign oil, gas, natural gas, ocs, offshore drilling, Secretary Salazar
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Call to action: CEA needs your help in securing greater supplies of offshore oil & gas!
Friday, July 10th, 2009
The country’s extreme dependence on foreign fuel is all the more stunning when you consider the abundance of untapped oil and natural gas that lies within our borders and below our coastal waters.
The federal government estimates conservatively that there are 288 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 52 billion barrels of oil in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). If those kinds of numbers make you glaze over, here’s a better visual: The estimated reserves would provide enough gasoline for 132 million cars and heating oil for 54 million homes for 15 years along with enough natural gas to heat 72 million homes for 60 years.
Alternatively, it could supply current industrial and commercial needs for 28 years, or all of the country’s electricity generating needs for 53 years. That’s a lot of fuel that wouldn’t have to be shipped here from somewhere else.
And none of that includes Alaska. The federal government estimates that the waters off Alaska hold about 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
This is oil and gas the country badly needs. Even under the most aggressive projections for the development of alternative energy sources, U.S. demand for oil and natural gas is expected to continue to grow for at least 20 years.
The process of selling offshore leases is a complex matter with a complex history that is outlined in more detail on our home page. The key point to remember, however, is that this is a critical time for determining the country’s energy development policy for years to come, and potentially reversing a moratorium on new offshore leasing that has been in place since 1983.
CEA’s members understand that a strong and steady supply of domestic oil will not only help reduce oil price volatility; it will support jobs and all the multiple industries that run on oil, while providing relief to families and small businesses. Now we need your help in making sure that message is heard loud and clear.
The Call to Action on our Web site outlines why more oil friendly policies are critical to our economy, and explains how you can help by writing to the Obama administration. Feel free to use the attached text, or to write in your own words about what greater domestic energy production would mean to you, your business and your community.
And please write soon. The public comments period closes in September.
Tags: Add new tag, CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, congress, Consumer Energy Alliance, Department of the Interior, energy, energy independence, energy policy, energy prices, energy supply, exploration, gas, government, MMS, natural gas, Obama, ocs, offshore, oil, Secretary Salazar, the Consumer Energy Alliance
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Offshore drilling and pristine beaches: No reason you can’t have both
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Anyone unsure about how much oil drilling technology has improved in recent years need look no further than Santa Barbara, Calif.*
Environmental and oil interests in Santa Barbara aren’t always aligned, and yet day to day, they coexist extremely well. That is to say, that on just about any given day in Santa Barbara, you’ll find surfers riding waves, families playing in the sand, sunbathers basking in a climate so perfect it’s commonly called American Riviera … and off in the horizon, a series of oil platforms.
For first time visitors, these rigs are something of a curiosity, but soon enough they become part of the scenery. Far from the beach, there may be heated debates over whether those rigs should be there at all, but on the beach, no one seems bothered.
It’s important to keep Santa Barbara in mind now as many states around the country, including some popular tourist destinations like Florida, consider new offshore drilling projects as a way to breathe life into their economies.
Earlier this month, the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee approved expanded oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a region near the coast of Florida which lawmakers had previously deemed an oil-free zone. It was a breakthrough in efforts to adopt a more reasonable offshore drilling policy that would protect the environment and the tourism industry, while stimulating the economy. And while certain groups are, as expected, strongly opposed to any loosening of restrictions in the eastern Gulf, Florida’s tourism industry was not one of them.
Florida’s beaches are a main destination for tourists from around the country and the world, so it’s reasonable to assume the state’s tourism sector would come down on the anti-drilling side, if for no other reason than a desire not to preserve the status quo.
Last year, however, the tourism industry in Florida realized that preventing change in its own backyard would not prevent change from coming.
That change careened into Florida last summer in the form of crippling oil prices that put the brakes on a lot of tourism. Suddenly, a few oil platforms on the horizon didn’t seem like the worst thing that could happen. Not even close, actually.
In a landmark meeting, the state’s tourism executives hosted a summit to consider whether beaches and oil rigs could successfully coexist and the state’s advertising tourism arm, Visit Florida, reversed a longstanding opposition to offshore drilling. Governor Charlie Crist noted that while Florida was obliged to protect its beautiful beaches, it also had to support policies that would enable people to travel to the state.
One year later, the debate is still raging. But the fact that there’s a debate at all — in a state whose beaches attract millions of tourists — is progress.
The oil industry, of course, understands that tourism on the coast and industry offshore can work well together, particularly given its steadily increased focus on cleaner drilling technologies. After years of trying to get the word out about these improvements, people are starting to listen.
*In 1969, there was a devastating spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, and while the oil that washed up on shore is long gone, the memories and the fears still linger. It’s hard to make a strong argument for the merits of offshore drilling without acknowledging that accident. That spill forty years ago set in motion a wave of environmental activism, as well as a drive within the oil industry to develop better, safer drilling practices and operate with heightened sensitivity to its surroundings.
Tags: Add new tag, CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, clean, congress, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, Department of the Interior, energy, energy policy, energy prices, energy supply, environment, exploration, Florida, gas, government, natural gas, offshore drilling, oil, tourism
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New Report to Announce the Unprecedented Abundance of U.S. Natural Gas Supply
Monday, June 15th, 2009
Experts to discuss growth in U.S. resource base and future consumer impacts
Washington, DC – The American Gas Association (AGA) and the Potential Gas Committee (PGC) will hold a press conference Thursday, June 18, 2009 to release the major findings of the PGC’s year-end 2008 biennial report: Potential Supply of Natural Gas in the United States. The report is expected to reveal that domestic natural gas reserves and estimates of undiscovered resources have grown significantly, in great part due to the emergence of technologies that unlock newly discovered reserves such as natural gas from shale.
WHO:
Chris McGill, supply expert and Managing Director Policy Analysis for the American Gas Association
Dr. John B. Curtis, Director of the Potential Gas Agency, Colorado School of Mines.
WHAT:
With climate change and energy proposals being considered on Capitol Hill this summer, new domestic natural gas discoveries are changing the national debate on energy and future domestic energy supplies. As a part of this dialogue, McGill and Curtis will discuss new natural gas resources, the outlook for natural gas supply, recent trends and consumer impacts.
WHEN:
10:00am Thursday, June 18, 2009 *breakfast will be served
WHERE:
American Gas Association Offices
400 North Capitol Street, NW, 4th Floor
Washington, DC
Tags: 2009 report, AGA, American Gas Association, natural gas, potential gas committee
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Domestic Oil and Natural Gas Supply: An Important Piece of the Puzzle
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Posted by: American Chemistry Council
Energy prices are down, but maybe not for long. The global recession has dampened demand for energy, giving us all a respite from the high prices we saw last summer. Many economists will tell you that today’s relatively lower energy prices are a function of “demand destruction” created by the downturn and that with the hoped-for recovery may come a resurgence in energy costs. After all, the underlying supply-demand situation has not changed. That should get us all thinking about what kind of U.S. energy policy is going to be needed to address our energy challenges.
Some energy policies are getting well-deserved attention in Congress and elsewhere. Energy efficiency and conservation policies were prominent in the stimulus package enacted by Congress. That was a good start, and policymakers are considering new pieces of legislation to encourage energy efficiency. Another key element of a sound energy policy – energy diversity – is emerging in the energy and climate debate, but more action is needed. The nation will need diverse supplies of low-emission energy, including alternatives and renewables, nuclear, carbon capture and sequestration and combined heat and power, if we are to advance greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals while meeting growing energy demand. Congress must enact policies that lead to significant investment, research, development and deployment of such important energy sources and technologies. The change needed is transformational, and these options must be brought online as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, one important piece of a comprehensive energy policy is missing. That piece is expanded domestic oil and natural gas supply.
It’s certainly exciting to see talk of potential new energy supplies in the United States . For example, shale natural gas supplies – if deposits are as extensive as believed and if they are found, made accessible, developed and brought to market quickly – could have far-reaching benefits for consumers and for industries such as chemistry that rely on natural gas. Yet Congress needs to develop a strategic, thoughtful policy approach to domestic energy resources and how they can be used to help accomplish our energy, environmental and economic goals.
Domestic energy sources such as on-shore and off-shore natural gas fit in well with a clean energy economy. Natural gas is used for cleaner electricity generation, leading to a 69 percent increase in electricity-related natural gas demand from 1997 to 2007. Natural gas is used to make cleaner transportation fuels such as ultra-low-sulfur diesel. It’s used for fertilizer to grow renewable energy crops, hydrogen for fuel cells, and as a key raw material, or “feedstock” for chemistry products that go into energy efficiency and renewable energy applications, including building insulation, solar panels, wind turbines, lightweight vehicle parts, lithium-ion batteries, energy-efficient appliances, automotive and industrial lubricants, low-rolling-resistance tires, and many more. (Feedstock use does not emit GHGs). The clean energy demands placed on natural gas – already high today – will grow sharply as the U.S. seeks to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We’ll need an accessible, affordable domestic supply to keep pace with these demands. Yet America does not have the ability to access the supplies we have and need.
What should Congress do? We believe that access to potential offshore supplies of oil and natural gas should be expanded. We believe Congress should require that, once a potential supply of energy has been confirmed, the government should take immediate steps to list that resource on the inventory and entertain proposals to lease those resources. And perhaps most importantly, Congress needs to recognize the fundamental economic drivers that lie behind the development of additional oil and gas supplies. We may well have sufficient supplies of shale gas to last for decades – but economics dictates which supplies can be tapped first and brought to market quickly. That process needs to happen without market-distorting subsidies.
As demonstrated by last year’s decision to not renew America’s outdated bans on offshore energy development, Congress has also recognized the importance of offshore domestic energy to the United States. Congress should move ahead with legislation that ensures American energy resources are fully explored, developed and brought to market before the next “crisis.” We should not wait for energy prices to climb again, following economic recovery, to determine how we’ll put offshore domestic energy resources to work for our clean energy future and our economy. Among other benefits, let’s not forget that offshore energy development can generate billions for the U.S. Treasury.
The American public is supportive, too. Public opinion surveys consistently show that at least two-thirds of Americans support offshore oil and natural gas development. They understand that an affordable, reliable supply of energy is critical to the economy, to a globally competitive U.S. manufacturing sector, and to millions of jobs.
The other industrialized nations of the world – from the U.K. to Norway, Ireland to Brazil – make meaningful use of their offshore energy resources as part of a smart, present-day energy strategy. Given today’s offshore energy development technology and track record http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/bin.asp?CID=217&DID=4703&DOC=FILE.PDF, as part of a broader energy policy, it only makes sense for the United States to do the same.
Tags: American Chemistry Council, American energy, congress, demand destruction, domestic, domestic oil, emissions, energy efficiency, energy prices, global recession, greenhouse gas, hydrogen fuel cell, natural gas, shale, sulfur diesel, United States, wind turbine
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When the economy cools, debate over domestic drilling heats up
Monday, June 1st, 2009
California, with its vast oil reserves on the one hand and its extensive and scenic coastline on the other, has long been ground zero for the crusade against domestic drilling. Overnight, it seems to have become the site for some of the most levelheaded debating on the topic.
The San Francisco Chronicle recently published “Americans want it both ways,” in which Victor Davis Hanson, a historian at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, highlighted the faulty logic of a community that wants to consume oil but does not want to produce it.
It is, of course, a very clear contradiction that should not even have to be spelled out in a serious editorial. The fact that many of our debates about energy policy seem to skip this basic reality underscores how the benefits of domestic drilling are like the proverbial pink elephant in a room, that everyone sees but no one acknowledges.
Hanson argues that the “not in my backyard” philosophy is not just narrow-minded but could be harmful. After all, where are people more likely to be able to ensure that the oil they consume is developed with respect for the environment: in their backyards or in some distant country that has barely a shadow of the conservation movement here at home?
“If we exploit our own energy carefully offshore and in Alaska, it will mean less sloppy foreign drilling off places like Nigeria or in the fragile Russian tundra to feed American cars and trucks,” writes Hanson. He also mentions all the jobs and money that could be saved if the U.S. produced more oil and imported less.
Anyone who has been following California state politics knows that Hanson’s remarks were prescient. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, seeking ways to close the state’s gaping budget deficit, is seeking to open California waters to new oil drilling projects for the first time in 40 years.
The proposal was immediately met with much resistance, but the opposition was not across the board. Many groups, including some local environmental groups in Santa Barbara, near the site of the proposed new project, expressed a willingness to negotiate.
It’s not entirely clear if Schwarzenegger’s proposal represents the best way to expand offshore drilling in California. What is highly encouraging is that the nature of the dialogue is more open and honest than we’ve seen in years. It focuses not just on the alternative sources of power we need to develop for the future, but on the conventional power that is absolutely essential today. And that sort of honestly that addresses our needs as well as our dreams is, in the long run, the best way to come up with real solutions for protecting our environment, along the California coast, and all around the world.
Tags: CEA Energy Grass Roots, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, domestic energy, drilling, energy supply, gasoline, natural gas, offshore, oil, the Consumer Energy Alliance, the Consumer Energy Alliance grassroots, U.S. wealth of energy resources
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U.S. Natural Gas and Oil Producers Launch “Energy In Depth” Initiative to Educate the Public, Prevent Losses
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC – A coalition of America’s oil and natural gas producers today released the findings of a major research initiative, which, among other things, concludes that enacting new federal environmental regulations – especially related to hydraulic fracturing – could have disastrous economic consequences and increase our dependence on foreign sources of oil.
Known as Project BRIEF – Bringing Real Information on Energy Forward – the research initiative is comprised of studies on the history and progress of effective state regulation of energy development, the proper role of the federal government in regulating development, and the economic consequences associated with changes to existing regulatory frameworks. To highlight the Project BRIEF findings and educate the public, the coalition also launched a new website, which can be found at www.EnergyInDepth.org.
“The scope of the Project BRIEF research project is unprecedented, and its findings are stark,” said Lee Fuller of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, one of the coalition organizers which represents the 5,000 smaller, independent producers that drill 90 percent of the nation’s wells. “Implementing new federal regulations that threaten domestic energy production and increase costs – without creating any additional environmental benefits – is the wrong policy course for the country, and could cost thousands of hard-working Americans their jobs. That’s the bottom line in the BRIEF reports, and the reason we’ve launched this public education initiative.”
America’s natural gas and oil producers provide massive untold contributions to the national economy, and play a critical role in ensuring that America’s energy needs are – and will continue to be – met. Saddling these producers with new, unnecessary, and ineffective environmental regulations could put them out of business, destroy jobs, and increase our U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy. That’s especially true if lawmakers in Congress move forward with plans to target hydraulic fracturing, a safe and commonly used production technology that renders possible the efficient extraction of energy resources from shale rock.
“Energy is the lifeblood of our economy and the fuel that sustains and creates good jobs here at home,” Fuller continued. “The men and women who work for America’s roughly five thousand small and independent oil and natural gas producers are using 21st century technology to develop supplies safely, efficiently, and effectively – as their long record of achievement illustrates. Policymakers and the American public need to get unvarnished facts and see firsthand the environmentally-sensitive technology we have at our command today to produce energy safely. They’ll get both, and more, with Energy in Depth.”
Key Findings of the Project BRIEF reports include:
- 1.2 million Americans are directly employed by domestic oil and natural gas producers
- In 2007 alone, the industry invested a record $226 billion in domestic exploration and production, driving countless state and local economies
- In 2007, the oil and gas industry paid public and private landowners $30 billion in royalties.
- State regulation of the domestic energy activities has effectively protected the environment and public health for over a century.
Potential new regulations now circling around Washington could:
- Force the closure of more than half of America’s oil wells and a third of our gas wells
- Cost the federal government $4 billion in revenue; state treasuries would lose $785 million
- Slash domestic oil production by 183,000 barrels per day; natural gas by 245 billion cubic feet per year
For more information on Project BRIEF and to learn more about American energy production, visit www.EnergyInDepth.org – a first-of-its kind, insider’s look at domestic energy production. It features a virtual well site, a storehouse of interactive features and videos aimed at giving users an up-close view of American oil and natural gas production.
Some of the other features visitors will find useful on Energy In Depth:
- Interactive State-by-State Map: Includes data on how many jobs would be at risk and how much annual tax and royalty revenue each state would stand to lose under regulations currently being considered in both state and federal legislatures.
- Frac In Depth/Environment In Depth: A stand-alone section devoted to the who, what, when, how, and where of a drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing – along with a separate section detailing recent breakthroughs in technology that are allowing producers to protect and preserve our environment. Hydraulic fracturing is responsible for delivering 30 percent of America’s oil and natural gas, and has aided in the extraction of more than 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and seven billion barrels of oil over the history of its use.
- Comprehensive Energy Research Library: The product of months of independent research and hundreds of hours of document assembly, the library brings together reports, studies and hard-to-find analyses to complement the site’s already established content.
For more information or to test out the available features, visit www.EnergyInDepth.org.
Tags: Bringing Real Information on Energy Forward, congress, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, energy, gas, government, Independent Petroleum Association of America, legislatures, natural gas, oil, tax, www.EnergyInDepth.org.
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CEA: Alaskans Turn Out in Force to Support Offshore Energy Exploration; At Hearing in Anchorage, America’s Citizen Energy Experts Turn Out En Masse to Make Their Voices Heard
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
ANCHORAGE— April 14, 2009 Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) president David Holt issued the following statement today after Alaskan consumers, service providers, union members, producers and transporters of energy came out in large numbers to attend and participate in the Interior Department’s third public meeting on the future of American energy policy.
“Alaskans know what it takes to produce the energy that powers America – a contribution the rest of the nation continues to benefit from more than 40 years after the first commercial discovery at Prudhoe Bay. That’s why it’s appropriate Secretary Salazar would come out to Anchorage today, allowing him a chance to hear firsthand how responsible energy exploration can co-exist with, and even complement, sound stewardship of our environment – all while creating and sustaining thousands of good-paying, family-supporting jobs.”
A study released by the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) in December found that responsible energy exploration in Alaska accounts for more than 108,000 high-paying jobs in the state — jobs that are responsible for generating more than $7 billion in individual wages.
Dave Harbour, a member of CEA’s Board of Advisors and a former commissioner of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, also testified at the hearing, saying: “America can properly produce its offshore wealth in a way that will directly and quickly begin benefiting consumers everywhere. Beginning to explore for, and then produce, America’s trillions of cubic feet of clean burning natural gas resources and billions of barrels of prospective oil resources will transform America.”
A recent report issued by the Interior Department shows that these undeveloped reserves of the OCS represent about four times the US proved reserves of oil and natural gas. The report also underscores the need for more analysis of what is actually available offshore — analysis that is likely to show a great deal more oil and gas offshore than currently projected. According to the federal government, more than 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie undeveloped off our shores in the OCS. That amounts to enough energy to replace 50 years worth of OPEC oil.
Before any offshore resources can be explored, the Interior Department must include prospective areas in its “five year plan” for offshore energy development. Today’s hearing in Anchorage is the third in a series of four public meetings designed to provide a platform for the public to discuss and debate the agency’s plan. Previous hearings took place in Atlantic City and New Orleans. A final hearing is slated for Thursday in San Francisco.
Tags: Alaska, CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, energy, exploration, Interior Department, natural gas, offshore, oil, OPEC, Secretary Salazar
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CEA: Louisiana speaks for the southern coast; Let us develop our offshore energy resources
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
NEW ORLEANS – April 8, 2009 Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) president David Holt released the following statement this afternoon as hundreds of energy consumers and providers descended upon Tulane University to participate in the second of Interior secretary Ken Salazar’s series of public meetings on the future of American energy policy:
“Energy is the lifeblood of our country and the backbone of the economy down here in Louisiana. Today, Secretary Salazar had a chance to hear firsthand how responsible energy exploration can lead to new jobs, greater revenue, and the prospect of genuine energy security. It was a message delivered early and often during this hearing today – from a high school principal whose students and their families depend on the jobs and royalties that offshore energy creates, to members of Congress and other local leaders who recognize that safe offshore development and sound stewardship of our environment are not mutually exclusive goals.
Moving forward, it’s our hope that Secretary Salazar takes some of the insights provided here today back to Washington, as he and his staff continue their work on developing a responsible plan for producing more of America’s abundant natural resource base as part of a comprehensive, balanced energy policy that increases access to oil and natural gas, expands the use of alternative energy, and increases efficiency. Louisianans have helped power, fuel and light our country for more than a century – and have generated billions of dollars in revenue as a result of it. It’s time to expand that opportunity to the rest of the nation as well. Hopefully, today’s meeting will have the effect of moving that process along for the better.”
Tags: CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, Consumer Energy Issues, energy, natural gas, offshore energy, oil, Secretary Salazar
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CEA: New Jersey sends clear message to Interior Secretary; Let us develop our offshore energy resources
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
ATLANTIC CITY- April 6, 2009 Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) President David Holt issued the following statement today as a packed meeting room in the Atlantic City Convention Center saw hundreds turn out in support of responsible energy exploration in the outer continental shelf (OCS):
“Secretary Salazar came face to face today with the very people who would benefit most immediately from allowing energy exploration along the OCS,” said Holt. “Responsible offshore energy development will create jobs, generate taxpayer revenue and boost economic activity in New Jersey, and in all the other states that share our abundant energy resource base. By approving a plan to allow offshore oil and natural gas exploration and wind development as part of a comprehensive energy proposal, the Obama Administration can stand with the majority of Americans who understand that developing our abundant resources can help get us out of the current economic crisis.”
According to the federal government, more than 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie undeveloped off our shores in the OCS. That amounts to enough energy to replace 50 years worth of OPEC oil.
A recent report issued by the Interior Department shows that these undeveloped reserves of the OCS represent about 4 times America’s proven reserves of oil and natural gas. The report also underscores the need for more analysis of what is actually available offshore – analysis that is likely to show a great deal more oil and gas available offshore than currently projected.
Before any offshore resources can be explored, the Interior Department must include prospective areas in its “five year plan” for offshore energy development. Today’s hearing in Atlantic City is the first in a series of four public meetings discussing the agency’s plan. Future hearings will take place in New Orleans (April 8), Anchorage (April 14) and San Francisco (April 16).
In addition to strong citizen turn out, public officials and elected leaders also spoke at today’s hearing. One of them was U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), chairman of the Western Caucus. “If these public hearings do anything at all,” Bishop testified, “I hope they will answer this question: Do we want to continue to grow more dependent on other nations to meet our energy needs, or do we want to do what is necessary to achieve greater control of our economic destiny? It’s time we took the cap off the OCS.”
Former congressman John Peterson (R-Pa.) also made the trip to Atlantic City, reminding the panel that “we are the only country in the developed world to lock up these vital resources away, and thus deny reasonable access to the 300 million Americans who own them.” He added: “I strongly support all types of renewable energy and strong tax incentives for all of us to conserve our energy use. I believe it is equally important that we increase our production of oil and gas to stop the sky rocketing foreign dependence on unstable unfriendly countries that are not now, and may not ever be, our friends.”
Tags: CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, Department of the Interior, energy, exploration, Interior Department, natural gas, Obama, ocs, offshore energy, oil, OPEC, renewable energy, Secretary Salazar, Western Caucus
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CEA: Gulf lease sales generate millions for U.S. taxpayers, ensure long-term energy affordability for all
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
HOUSTON – March 18, 2009 David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), issued the following statement today after the Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced that energy-rich areas up for sale in the central Gulf of Mexico produced more than 475 bids and generated more than $700 million for the U.S. taxpayer:
“With our economy facing unprecedented challenges, today’s lease sale in the Gulf provides new hope that millions of new jobs, billions in new revenue, and a serious plan to ensure long-term energy affordability are well within our reach.
“The sale also marks the beginning of an important new chapter in the history of offshore exploration: the establishment of revenue-sharing partnership with the states. It’s a component we’ve fought hard to promote over the years, and one we’re convinced will lead to more energy for consumers, more revenue for taxpayers, and greater security for our nation.
“Lease Sale 208 didn’t result in a single drop of oil today, or a single unit of new natural gas – but it did produce more than $700 million for the American taxpayer. Such is the promise and potential of responsible offshore energy exploration. And now is the time to turn that potential into the affordable energy we need to put our economy back on track.”
CEA is a non-profit, non-partisan energy consumer group that has long advocated a national energy policy that focuses on creating a diverse portfolio of energy supplies, from wind to solar to biofuels to petroleum and clean-burning natural gas.
With more than 100 affiliated organizations and thousands of consumer-advocates, CEA’s mission is to expand the dialogue between the consuming and energy sectors to improve overall understanding of energy security and the thoughtful development and utilization of energy resources to help create sound energy policy and maintain stable energy prices for consumers.
Tags: biofuel, CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, Consumer Energy Issues, energy, energy policy, exploration, Minerals Management Service, MMS, natural gas, offshore, oil, petroleum, solar, wind
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CEA March 2009 Newsletter
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
CEA Newsletter
Issue 24
Message from CEA President David Holt
A balanced approach to meeting America’s energy needs, including utilizing oil, natural gas and offshore wind resources, is the course that CEA consistently pushes forward as the best option for the country, its people, and our leaders.
Balance is one of the key components of stabilizing energy prices – so that consumers and businesses don’t experience rapid fluctuations in cost. To achieve the goal of stable energy sources and reasonable prices, we must put in place a commonsense, long-term approach for resource development.
Currently, the Five-Year Plan Draft Proposed Program to Develop Offshore Oil and Gas Resources is on the table and up for public discussion. Anyone who wants to let the government know that they support development of offshore oil and gas resources may do so by sending in comments to the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS).
CEA is calling for participation and through our “Call to Action”, you can send in your comments to make your voice heard on this important issue that is so vital to our country’s stability and security. Already tens of thousands of small business owners, consumer groups, and everyday Americans have visited CEA’s site to register their views. You, too, can make your voice heard. Take action!
Recently, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that his agency would extend by several months the current development and comment collection process for the new, supply-oriented, five-year energy plan.
Though we at CEA realize that the new administration in Washington would like to study this plan in greater depth, consider improvements, and allow as many Americans to comment on the plan as possible, we also believe that the time is now to handle the American energy crisis. From this perspective, any significant delay in securing a serious, robust energy strategy for our country would be disappointing.
CEA believes, supports, and promotes that we have the power to stimulate our economy, create new jobs, and bring in billions in additional revenue, by developing our untapped oil and gas resources. We also call for a balanced approach that would incorporate alternative resources, such as wind, solar, biofuels, and nuclear. But an easy, effective and important step is to open up areas previously off limits to offshore oil and gas exploration. By doing so, we open America up to a new world of opportunities, stability and security.
Join with CEA in supporting offshore oil and gas production as part of a balanced plan for developing American energy resources. We believe and we’re sure you’ll agree – it’s the right thing to do.
David Holt
President
Support the Five-Year Plan Draft Proposed Program to Develop Offshore Oil & Gas Resources!
A significant domestic supply of energy can be safely and efficiently found right here off of America’s shores. The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) currently administers the considerable oil and natural gas resources contained in our offshore waters and wants to hear from you about offshore oil and gas development.
Opposition to offshore energy development is mounting. We need you to let Washington know you support reasonable accesss to America’s offshore energy resources.
Support Offshore Wind Power!
The Minerals Management Service is now accepting public comments on a final proposal to develop an offshore wind energy facility off of the Massachusetts coast.
The Cape Wind Energy Project has the potential to power more than 200,000 homes in Massachusetts.
Consumer Corner: New options for energy efficient homeowners
The recently-enacted stimulus bill provides significant changes to energy efficient tax credits available to consumers for home improvements, including roofing, insulation, windows and doors, central air conditioning, water heaters, residential solar and wind energy systems, fuel cells, and much more.
The bill highlights provides an extension of tax credits available for 2009 until 2010, a raise in the tax credit from 10 percent to 30 percent of the cost and an increase in the maximum tax credit available. The maximum tax credit for the two-year period (2009-2010) was increased to $1500, significantly higher than the previous max of $500. The cap does not apply to several improvements, including: solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, and solar panels.
Additional consumer information is available online from Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, which promotes saving money and protecting the environment by using energy efficient products and practices. Find out more…
Energy and the Domestic Steel Industry
The U.S. steel industry has the world’s lowest energy consumption per ton of production. As major consumers of energy (20 percent of production costs), and natural gas in particular, steel companies have been hit hard by high and extremely volatile prices.
The steel sector continues to make significant progress to further reduce energy use in steel production by improving energy efficiency. Despite the recent revitalization of the industry including heightened productivity, improved profitability and a voluntary reduction of energy intensity by 33 percent since 1990, these higher energy costs have a significant impact on the sector’s bottom line. The industry is currently conducting research into the next generation of iron and steelmaking technologies that will dramatically reduce or virtually eliminate CO2 emissions. These new “breakthrough technologies” are being developed, and if successful, will be available for commercial use in 15-20 years.
The industry believes that a comprehensive energy policy must embrace all forms of energy. Existing energy sources including nuclear power, wind power, off-shore exploration, and bio-gas – must all be further developed and deployed. Future energy from clean coal and sequestration technologies require further research and development to be deployed commercially at scale. A comprehensive domestic energy policy must pursue all of these options to ensure a secure and sustainable energy future for American manufacturers and consumers.
The nation has suffered too long without a forward looking energy policy. A main priority for the domestic steel industry is working with Congress to promote development of U.S. energy resources to help secure future economic growth. The foundation of a sound, comprehensive energy policy should:
- Provide all consumers with green, affordable, abundant and reliable energy. Greening the electrical grid is the fastest way to CO2 reduction and has the additional benefit of reducing the CO2 footprint of major electricity users such as steel.
- Reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers by exploring our own domestic supply and provide financial incentives for states allowing exploration and production off their shores;
- Grant targeted tax credits for investment in wind and other renewable energy projects;
- Encourage safe and clean nuclear power through regulatory streamlining and offering sufficient resources to solve the issue of nuclear waste; and
- Update and expand electrical grid/distribution network.
America must enhance the production of domestic resources to preserve the competitiveness of the U.S. steel industry.
Jennifer Diggins from the American Iron and Steel Institute contributed this article. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Ms. Diggins at JDiggins@steel.org.
Affiliate Spotlight: American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Dedicated to the energy and environmental geosciences, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is the world’s largest scientific and professional association of geologists with more than 31,000 geoscientists in 116 countries.
Since 1917, the organization has been fostering a spirit of scientific research among its members and advancing the science of geology particularly related to petroleum, natural gas, other subsurface fluids, mineral resources and the environment.
“Our members are individuals who have specific educational and professional credentials,” notes David Curtiss, director of AAPG’s Geoscience and Energy Office in Washington, D.C. “We are not a trade organization and have no corporate members.”
“AAPG is about energy and environment, and our organizational focus is global. Our members work in industry, seeking to find and develop new energy sources around the world. Our members work in government, regulating industry activities and managing public lands on behalf of the people. And our members work in academia, advancing the science and educating the next generation workforce,” Curtiss says.
Energy supply sources throughout the world, including North America, are very important to both AAPG and its members.
“Roughly two-thirds of our members live and work in the United States, and we have large membership groups in Canada and Mexico, so North American energy resources are clearly important to AAPG members. But in a global market every supply source is important,” Curtiss explains.
When it comes to policy on energy issues, AAPG hopes to accomplish two goals, says Curtiss.
“AAPG seeks to provide policy makers with the best information possible on the science and practice of exploring and developing geological energy resources. Second, AAPG communicates to policy makers and the public its views on a variety of policy issues through its Statements. The issues include diverse topics, such as access to federal lands, federal R&D needs, geological data preservation, and workforce development.” (Read Statements from AAPG here.)
AAPG is active in enabling certification for its members and promoting the spread of member experts’ knowledge and ideas to others.
“Through our Division of Professional Affairs we provide certification opportunities for our members, and the Division’s Government Affairs Committee works to provide the knowledge and expertise of AAPG’s membership to policy makers and regulators,” says Curtiss.
Other branches of AAPG include the Energy Minerals Division, which focuses on non-traditional resources, geo-thermal, and coal, and the Division of Environmental Geosciences, which brings geological knowledge and methods to environmental problems.
AAPG is an affiliate of Consumer Energy Alliance in an effort to connect to those who use energy, such as consumers, and those who develop energy.
“AAPG’s focus is energy geoscience, and the needs and interests of our diverse membership. Being an affiliate of CEA connects our scientific and professional expertise through the economic value-chain to the end-user, the consumer,” comments Curtiss. “As each affiliate connects to CEA and learns about the other groups, the result is a realization of how policy issues affecting a specific affiliate in a different industry can actually impact the entire network.”
Being a part of the network that CEA facilitates is beneficial to companies, associations, and consumers, Curtiss points out.
“This is a unique perspective that cuts across typical stove-pipe thinking. It clarifies that energy, economic, and environmental policy cannot be developed in isolation, because they are interdependent. That is reality, and what makes CEA’s efforts to inform and educate policy makers and the public to these issues so vitally important.”
For more information on AAPG, visit www.aapg.org.
Upcoming Events: March Energy Summit in Houston
Houston, the Energy Capital of the World, is hosting a day-long energy summit, Americas Energy Future: Assessing Our Paths to Energy Security, on March 24 to bring together business executives, energy experts, public policy leaders, elected officials and more. Panels will discuss energy supply and demand; the role and impact of technology; infrastructure requirements and costs; public policy implications and solutions; and the future of federal energy policy. Find out more…
Tags: AAPG, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, biofuels, Cape Wind Energy Project, CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, clean coal, coal, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, Energy Star, EPA, Evironmental Protection Agency, Five-Year Plan Draft Proposed Program, fuel cells, Geoscience and Energy Office, Minerals Management Service, MMS, natural gas, nuclear, offshore, offshore oil, offshore wind, oil, Secretary Ken Salazar, Secretary Salazar, solar, tax credits, US Steel Industry, wind
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CEA February 2009 Newsletter
Friday, February 6th, 2009
CEA Newsletter
Issue 23
Message from CEA President David Holt
As a new Congress and administration look to confront the historic and related challenges of an economy in peril and millions of Americans out of work, CEA continues to make the case that an “all of the above,” supply-oriented energy strategy remains the best and most immediate way to stimulate our economy, create new jobs, and generate billions in additional revenue.
Consistent with that message, I’m pleased to report that the New Year has started off well for CEA and its members. Just last week, CEA was interviewed by E&E TV, considered the pre-eminent energy trade publication in Washington, for an extended segment on the Administration’s economic stimulus plan and its potential impacts on energy prices for consumers (click here to see interview). We also recently placed a column in the Virginian-Pilot, a paper with broad circulation along the Atlantic coast, stressing the need to responsibly develop our offshore energy resources (click here to see op-ed).
These latest developments highlight the momentum CEA has gained and continues to gain in reaching out on a regional and national level to consumers, business and industry about relevant energy issues and ways on how we can secure our energy and economic future. With the new Administration in place and talk of the economic stimulus plan reaching a fevered pitch, it remains critical that we continue to push for open dialogue on energy policy and the need for a commonsense, long-term approach to resource development.
One of the best ways for us to do that is to keep educating consumers, businesses and Washington thought-leaders about energy – where it comes from, what it’s used for and how to keep it affordable. Starting this month, we will profile each of our more than 110 Affiliates every issue to show how energy impacts their individual members, in the process providing ours with a greater sense of whom we represent and what CEA is all about.
In turn, one of our Affiliates will provide a report every month on an energy topic related to its business. This month, IPAA has provided a brief report on hydraulic fracturing, a process used to extract oil and natural gas from tight rock formations. We will also begin a “Consumer Corner” feature in the next couple of months that will provide information to our members on specific energy consumer issues, including tips on ways to conserve energy and become more efficient.
Effective dialogue can only take place if we are all properly informed about the issues at hand. CEA strives to give you the information you need to take part in the debate, and we look forward to finding more and better ways to do this.
David Holt
President
Support the Five-Year Plan Draft Proposed Program to Develop Offshore Oil & Gas Resources!
A significant domestic supply of energy can be safely and efficiently found right here off of America’s shores. The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) currently administers the considerable oil and natural gas resources contained in our offshore waters and wants to hear from you about offshore oil and gas development.
Opposition to offshore energy development is mounting. We need you to let Washington know you support reasonable accesss to America’s offshore energy resources.
Support Offshore Wind Power!
The Minerals Management Service is now accepting public comments on a final proposal to develop an offshore wind energy facility off of the Massachusetts coast.
The Cape Wind Energy Project has the potential to power more than 200,000 homes in Massachusetts.
U.S. Oil Reserves grew 2% in 2007 according to U.S. Energy Information Administration figures
In contrast to steep decreases in domestic crude reserves from the 1970’s on that became more moderate in the last ten years, the EIA reported in late January that proved U.S. oil reserves rose in 2007 by two percent, or 345 million bbl, reaching 21.32 million bbl by the end of that year. Due to the time required to develop final reports, the figures do not include the price volatility experienced during 2008, when crude oil prices ranged from a high of $150/bbl then dropped to $40/bbl. Read article…
Future holds solar-powered cars; Toyota offers solar panel option on 2010 Prius
Though cars powered solely by solar power are still in the distant future, automobile-makers are beginning to offer solar options on vehicles. The third generation Toyota Prius, coming this spring to a dealership near you, will feature an optional roof solar panel to power the car’s ventilation system. Read article…
Hydraulic Fracturing: What it means for the future of your business?
As consumers, we can tend to take for granted how much energy we use on a daily basis. Not only does oil and natural gas provide energy at home by giving us light when we flip on a switch, hot water for the shower, power stoves to cook meals, keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but it also serves as a feedstock for the fertilizer used by corn growers and others in the agriculture industry, powers engines for the air and trucking industries, and makes the insulation and vinyl that home builders use to protect and preserve the home and make it more energy efficient.
At the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), we welcome the production of all energy sources because we will need it all as America moves forward. The fact is energy is the driving force of the American economy. Oil and natural gas supply about 65 percent of America’s energy needs. Even with additional energy resources such as wind, solar and other alternatives, oil and natural gas will continue to be the main driving force of our economy for the foreseeable future.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process that has successfully been used for more than 50 years to extract oil and natural gas from tight rock formations in the earth. This innovative technology has allowed improved recovery of valuable energy resources all across the United States, and the majority of natural gas produced in the last two years can be attributed to this process.
Right now hydraulic fracturing, an essential process for oil and natural gas production, is being challenged by a few groups and some political leaders as a harmful process in attempts to end its use. These allegations are unfounded. If you take away hydraulic fracturing from the oil and natural gas industry, it is like taking the robotic machines off of the assembly line at a car manufacturing facility. It would drastically reduce supply. The bottom line is if the supply of American oil and natural gas decrease because producers can no longer employ hydraulic fracturing, negative ramifications will ripple across every sector of the economy. That ripple effect will undoubtedly reach all consumers.
For more information on hydraulic fracturing, click here to view a fact sheet. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact IPAA Vice President of Government Relations Lee Fuller at lfuller@ipaa.org or 202.857.4722.
Affiliate Spotlight: 60 Plus Association
When it comes to fighting for the rights of senior citizens and advocating policies that watch out for their interests, 60 Plus Association, a 15-year old non-partisan, free enterprise seniors’ activist organization, is there to do the job.
The group’s outlook, according to founder and Chairman Jim Martin, is less government, less taxes and adhering to the rule of supply and demand in the forefront of free marketplace dynamics.
Tags: 60 Plus Association, Cape Wind Energy Project, CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, Consumer Energy Issues, Department of the Interior, E&E TV, energy, energy supply, exploration, Five-Year Plan Draft Proposed Program, gas, Hydraulic fracturing, Independent Petroleum Association of America, IPAA, Minerals Managemnet Services, MMS, natural gas, natural gas supply, offshore energy resources, offshore wind, oil, solar, solar panels, solar power, Virginian-Pilot
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