Energy Today – March 13, 2013
Mary Schaper
Posted March 13, 2013
Christian Science Monitor – Jobs Report: The Energy Connection to Growth
Good news on Friday: the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in February, with more than 1,000 were added in the oil and natural gas industry. Contributions from the industry over the last year have added more than 20,000 jobs. The contribution comes from many areas: oil and gas extraction employment is up 10,000 jobs over the past year; utilities, up 6,000 jobs; coal employment, by contrast, down 5,000. Renewables are also growing slowly. But the jobs impact from the energy sector, especially the boom in unconventional oil and natural gas extraction, is much greater than that, driving a need for construction workers, engineers, truck drivers, and a host of related occupations.
Richmond Times Dispatch – America still needs oil and natural gas
New punitive taxes on carbon fuels will drive up energy costs. Many American families, middle-class and poor, are still struggling. A jump in the costs to heat their homes or power their cars would be devastating. What’s more, raising taxes on the oil and natural gas industry will kill jobs right here in Virginia. Over the past few years of recovery, the oil and natural gas sector has been a major bright spot in this state. It has steadily created solid, well-paid positions for locals while generating massive new tax revenues for Richmond.
USA Today – First Person: Fracking, Drills and Dreams in PA.
The promise of natural gas from technologies like hydraulic fracturing has spawned an energy revolution in places like Pennsylvania. Drilling rigs are now a part of the landscape, bringing new wealth to small towns. Here is a first-hand look at Tioga County, Pa.
The New York Times – The Axis of Ennui
By 2020, the United States will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer, according to the International Energy Agency. The U.S. has already overtaken Russia as the world’s leading gas producer. Fuel has become America’s largest export item. Within five years, according to a study by Citigroup, North America could be energy independent.
AEI Ideas – U.S. Companies Will Still Be Globally Competitive with Natural Gas Exports
A major energy controversy in Washington right now is whether the federal government should allow US energy companies to sell some of their natural gas bonanza to eager buyers overseas, and if so, whether those gas exports should be restricted or limited. The main concern of those groups opposing “unchecked” natural gas exports and who are aggressively engaged in lobbying rent-seeking to limit gas exports if they are even allowed, is the possibility that exports of our low-cost, abundant natural gas would put upward pressure on domestic prices.
Bloomberg TV – Shale Revolution Sparks Job Boom
Bakken oil and natural gas effect: For every job created in North Dakota over the last five years, three others followed in local businesses, construction and retail. That’s 345,000 jobs in five years, helping to lower unemployment rates to the lowest in the country. The industry also provides well-paying jobs – the average starting salary for industry workers was $100,000 in 2012. And in states like Texas and Oklahoma, the shale revolution is just beginning.
About The Author
Mary Schaper is a Digital Communications Manager for the American Petroleum Institute. She previously worked on Capitol Hill for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee as Digital Director and for Senator Lisa Murkowski. Before coming to D.C., she spearheaded digital strategy for Murkowski's successful Senate write-in campaign in 2010. Schaper enjoys traveling and taking in the local culture alongside her husband, their son and loyal springer spaniel.