Business Roundtable

The American Petroleum Institute held a "Vote 4 Energy" briefing today (news release) to highlight the power of unconventional oil and natural gas development -- more specifically, shale oil and gas -- to revive manufacturing, boost economic growth and create millions of jobs.

API President Jack Gerard opened with remarks, followed by Sean McGarvey of the Building and Construction Trade Department of the AFL-CIO. The need for energy infrastructure is one thing business and labor can agree on.  Kyle Isakower, API's vice president for regulatory and economic policy, then moderated a panel discussion that expanded upon a new report by IHS Global, " America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the US Economy."

Development of shale oil and gas through hydrofracturing has already created more than 1.7 million jobs By the end of the decade, it will have contributed a total of nearly 3 million jobs. Unconventional oil and natural gas production could produce significant growth in capital expenditures and employment, including:

• More than $5.1 trillion in cumulative capital expenditures by 2035.
• Adding 1.2 million new jobs by 2020, and supporting a total of 3.5 million jobs by 2035.
• Almost $62 billion in additional federal, state and local tax receipts in 2012 and more than $111 billion in 2020, with a total of more than $2.5 trillion in cumulative added revenues between 2012 and 2035.

Wrapping up the panel was John Larson, vice president for public sector consulting for IHS Global Insight. He commented:

Nearly 40 years of decline in production of oil in the country, 40 years, turned around in 2008 by virtue of tight oil.

That’s a remarkable thing. It’s really staggering. You’re looking at something by the end of the decade, nearly a 6 billion barrels a day difference largely brought about by additional tight oil.

Today, roughly 30 percent of our oil is from the unconventional tight oil plays.

On the gas side, 65 percent of our natural gas is now supplied by unconventional.

I think at some point Kyle we’re going to have to have a discussion about changing the name. It may not be unconventional.

When you look at the production profiles that you’re seeing coming out, when you look at the amount of supply coming on line, it really does [mean] a revolution, game-changer. Internally, we talk about sea change.

This is the one most significant energy events in the United States in the last hundred years.

That’s how you have to look at it. The question is what do we do with that opportunity.

 The report was sponsored by API, the Institute for 21st Century Energy, the American Chemistry Council, and the Natural Gas Supply Association.

More ...

• Fuel Fix (blog), "Industry leaders: Domestic oil, gas driving U.S. manufacturing resurgence"
• MNI (Deutsche Boerse), "API Chief: US Has Potential To Be New Middle East For Oil,Gas"
• Fox Business, "Creating Jobs by Drilling"