API President and CEO Jack Gerard laid out the benefits of the energy sector on the American economy and jobs in a webcast today. Gerard’s statements were sourced from the 2018 State of American Energy (SOAE) report by the API.
The 2018 SOAE report said that based on 2016 average annual wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average pay in the oil and gas industry was nearly $50,000 higher than the U.S. average. One report that the SOAE included estimated that the natural gas and oil and petrochemicals industries could create 1.9 million new job opportunities by 2035.
“More than 10 million women and men whose jobs are supported by the development, transportation, refining and use of natural gas and oil are at the heart of this year’s report,” Gerard said. “Their stories, their grit, and innovation are why natural gas and oil are making possible what was dismissed as impossible just a short time ago.”
Gerard pointed out that the next generation wants to work in America’s energy business because of the high pay, community involvement and the desire to drive energy developments. Innovation in the oil and gas world has led to operators adopting better technology.
One result: the U.S. economy-wide CO2 emissions are near 25-year lows.
Additionally, methane emissions have declined as natural gas production has gone up, Gerard said. Addressing the environmental footprint has been an industry goal since 1970.
Twenty-eight of the largest U.S. producers of natural gas have pledged to reduce methane and VOC emissions from domestic production.
In the webcast, Gerard discussed that New England has been paying high electricity prices, despite being nearby the vast Appalachian shale gas reserves. And that the state has stalled building new energy infrastructure. In contrast to New England, Ohio’s electricity prices have held steady or even declined – even during peak demand.
“Our industry supported $1.3 trillion of the U.S. GDP, $714 billion in earnings for U.S. workers in 2015, and contributed more than $70 million every day to the U.S. Treasury,” Gerard said.
Gerard mentioned NAFTA as a positive asset to the oil and gas industry, citing potential infrastructure upgrades and more energy flow between Canada, U.S. and Mexico.
