Energy Today - March 25, 2011
Rayola Dougher
Posted March 25, 2011
Yahoo Finance: Petro chief: Drill to solve economic woes: An all-out push for domestic oil and natural gas production could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and provide much-needed fiscal relief to budget-pinched states, the head of an energy trade group said Thursday. At a meeting of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute chief executive Jack Gerard called shale finds of natural gas "the game changer" in U.S. energy policy. Gerard said natural gas drilling and production in the huge Marcellus Shale find had created 57,000 direct jobs in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. With scores of gas and oil shale formations discovered nationwide, Gerard said full exploration and production could create up to a million new jobs and provide additional government revenue. The Marcellus, a multistate formation, could have up to 50 trillion cubic feet of gas, experts have said. In Louisiana, the Haynesville Shale gas formation, which is estimated to have up to 39 trillion cubic feet of gas, is credited with the creation of about 5,000 direct jobs over the past three years. "It's a proven job creator," Gerard said of shale drilling. The Las Vegas Sun: Oil and natural gas needed to get to tomorrow's fuels: Regarding the Las Vegas Sun's Thursday editorial, "Forging a new policy": Nevada drivers have a right to be concerned about rising fuel prices, and the editorial's point, that there is no one way to achieve a balanced energy policy to bring stability to the energy markets, is on the mark. For years we have advocated a comprehensive policy; in fact, U.S. oil and natural gas companies are among the leaders in increasing efficiency, in encouraging wiser use of all energy and in the development of alternative-energy technologies, such as solar, wind and geothermal power and biofuels. Until those technologies are capable of providing more energy for all Americans at reasonable costs, we will need more oil and natural gas, and America must continue to pursue policies that encourage responsible development of American oil and natural gas resources.
Fuel Fix: Oil industry battles claims that leases are languishing: Oil industry leaders are fighting back against allegations they are sitting idle on drilling leases covering tens of millions of acres while the cost of crude is climbing. Erik Milito, upstream director for the American Petroleum Institute, said the charges are nothing more than "political gamesmanship." "It is a convenient way to detract attention from policies that undermine the mission of supplying Americans with the energy they need," Milito told reporters on a conference call Thursday. "It is ridiculous for anyone to imply that these companies would be willing to spend billions of dollars to acquire leases and then simply sit on them while their competitors around the world are busy producing oil and natural gas." President Barack Obama raised the issue of non-producing oil and gas leases during a March 11 news conference, when he gave the Interior Department two weeks to review the issue. That deadline is today.
The Foundry: Morning Bell: Obama's Anti-Drilling Agenda Costs Jobs Across America: President Obama's hometown of Chicago is nearly 1,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. But like many other communities across the country, it is suffering the consequences of his Administration's anti-drilling agenda. Illinois accounted for $376.2 million in shallow-water drilling expenditures over the past three years, according to an analysis by 14 oil and gas companies that spend money on vendors and subcontractors. The bulk of that money--$242.2 million--was spent in the Chicago district represented by Representative Danny Davis (D-IL). It's fresh evidence that Obama's anti-drilling agenda is having a ripple effect across America since last year's oil spill, claiming jobs not just in Louisiana and Texas but also in communities far removed from the shipyards in the Gulf of Mexico. The study from the Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition paints a picture of the nationwide economic ramifications. Obama can't even be blamed for playing politics. Five of the states that benefit most from shallow-water drilling backed him as a candidate in 2008. And Democrats represent many of the congressional districts that stand to lose millions.
Additional Resources:
AP: API head: Drill to solve economic woes