Lifting bans on fracking, exports will add many jobs, save consumers billions

WASHINGTON, D.C.—If Texas were a nation, it would be the No. 3 dry natural gas producer in the world—ahead of Iran, China and Saudi Arabia.

Eight individual states now each produce over 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, which would rank them among the world’s top 30 producing countries. In oil production, two U.S. states—Texas and North Dakota—would rank among the top 20 nations in the world. Four additional states—Alaska, California, New Mexico, and Oklahoma—make the top 35. In other words, the United States is now a global energy superpower, and even individual states are now global leaders in their own right. This growth is paying off for American families and businesses. The abundance of affordable energy has lowered costs for many businesses, sparking a manufacturing renaissance and attracting companies back to our shores. Shale energy will support nearly 400,000 manufacturing jobs this year. Memorial Day gasoline prices were at their lowest levels in five years, spurring the highest holiday weekend road travel volumes in 10 years.

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Last year, U.S. Energy Information chief Adam Sieminski estimated that global supply outages could push prices to about $150 per barrel. But stable and growing U.S. production acted as a buffer against turmoil in the Middle East and elsewhere, and now Americans are saving an average $108 per month at the pump. That’s pretty much the definition of energy security, and it’s almost entirely due to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. If production levels on federally controlled land matched those on state and private lands, the United States could reap even greater economic rewards. But that’s not what’s happening. While production on non-government land jumped 89 percent for oil and 43 percent for natural gas between 2009 and 2014, gas production on public lands slumped 34 percent and remained flat for oil. The culprit is all too predictable: bureaucratic red tape. New hydraulic fracturing regulations announced by the Obama Administration would make the disparity even worse by delaying operations and driving up costs. Hydraulic fracturing operations are already subject to wide range of federal regulations under the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act and other laws—in addition to strong state rules tailored to each area’s unique geology, hydrology and other physical characteristics. According to the Ground Water Protection Council, “state agencies are on the forefront of oil and gas regulation” and continually update regulations to “address the safety and environmental issues surrounding modern energy development.” As President Obama’s former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar put it, “We know that, from everything we’ve seen, there’s not a single case where hydraulic fracking has created an environmental problem for anyone.” Meanwhile, regulatory delays for key infrastructure and federal restrictions on crude oil exports continue to hold back production, preventing U.S. consumers and workers from realizing the full economic benefits of America’s energy revolution. Lifting the obsolete, ‘70s-era ban on crude exports could generate up to 300,000 additional U.S. jobs, cut our trade deficit by $22 billion, and save American consumers up to an average $5.8 billion per year on gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel. Free trade for crude oil also makes geopolitical sense. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and sponsor of legislation to end the export ban, notes:

“If we lift the current sanctions on Iran while keeping in place our own domestic sanctions on crude oil exports, America’s ability to increase its domestic energy security and that of our allies will suffer.”

America’s production resurgence has been a game-changer geopolitically, economically and from a national security perspective. Forward-thinking policies that encourage, not undermine, responsible energy production can cement our position as a global energy leader. Kyle Isakower is Vice President for Regulatory and Economic Policy at the American Petroleum Institute. He hold a masters in earth science from Adelphi University and a bachelor’s degree in biology-geology from the University of Rochester. Readers may write him at API, 1220 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-4070