At CERAWeek, U.S. Energy Secretary Urges American Oil Production, Extols Virtues of LNG
Chris Carroll
Posted March 9, 2022
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm urged American oil firms to produce “more right now, where and if you can” in CERAWeek keynote remarks that contrasted with less encouraging statements this week from White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
The energy mega-conference was in its third day in Houston. Sec. Granholm addressed a packed room of thousands of energy and climate advocates at a moment when Americans are paying an average cost of $4.25 per gallon of gasoline following President Joe Biden’s move to ban oil imports from Russia after Vladimir Putin ordered an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Ahead of the horrors of the last two weeks, Russia produced 1 in 10 barrels of oil worldwide. While our industry is prepared to comply with President Biden’s ban on Russian imports and supports the U.S. government and our allies in their collective efforts, the disruption in supply led The New York Times to describe the fallout as the oil market’s “greatest upheaval since the Middle East tumult of the 1970s.”
More from Sec. Granholm’s speech:
“For over a hundred years, the oil and gas industry has powered our nation and gotten us where we are today. We are eternally grateful for that.”
Sec. Granholm’s CERAWeek speech offered a different tone than a November television interview, when she laughed off a question about how the administration would encourage new supply to meet rising demand and whether it would turn to U.S. oil and gas companies to help. It also was different from Psaki’s jousting with White House reporters over whether the administration should encourage more domestic production.
The hedged nature of Sec. Granholm’s statement – “where and if you can” – appeared to be a belated acknowledgement of some of the key points industry has relayed in communicating to the administration that ramping up supply isn’t a matter of flipping a switch or turning on a faucet. (Read more here.)
API President and CEO Mike Sommers on Sec. Granholm’s speech:
“We welcome the Secretary’s recognition of the need to increase supply and the role of natural gas and oil production in meeting rising energy demand at a time of international turmoil, and we call on the administration to restore certainty for producers and remove regulatory barriers that are hampering the domestic production that’s needed now and in the future.”
Sec. Granholm described the energy industry’s “talented workforce” in extending an olive branch to natural gas and oil experts to help alleviate supply issues today and tackle climate challenges.
In a follow-up Q&A with energy historian Daniel Yergin, Sec. Granholm also characterized U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a “huge” force for good in helping meet energy security and climate needs.
Sommers agreed in an op-ed published in Fortune last week:
“The current emergency is front of mind, but American LNG exports are key to a forward-looking geopolitical strategy built around accessible energy that helps nations address any number of challenges. For example, in our country, the increased use of natural gas to fuel power generation was key to U.S. carbon dioxide emissions dropping to their lowest levels in a generation. This has allowed America to become the world’s leader in reducing CO2 emissions, which is key to achieving climate goals and building a lower-carbon future.”
More to come from API in the coming days on the administration’s embrace of U.S. energy leadership.
About The Author
Chris Carroll is director of Executive Writing at the American Petroleum Institute. He arrived at API in 2019 after a decade in journalism, government and public affairs. Prior to his posting at API, Chris served as communications director for Congresswoman Elaine Luria (VA-02); press secretary for Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05); and Washington correspondent for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Chris is a Chattanooga native and graduated with honors from East Tennessee State University. He and his wife, Taylor, reside in Washington, DC.