The abundance of America’s oil and natural gas resources means consumers enjoy greater supply security, more affordably priced energy and millions of jobs created by new oil and natural gas development. Additionally, increased use of cleaner-burning natural gas in place of coal has helped reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These benefits stem from revolutionary advancements in our capability to produce oil and natural gas from previously untapped reservoirs, such as shale rock, deep offshore deposits and oil sands.
Providing Energy Security
With other countries still at an early stage in exploring their own potential from shale and other tight formation energy resources, the implications for greater balance in the global oil and natural gas markets are very positive. Already, the abundance of domestic natural gas has reduced the need for the U.S. to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the foreseeable future. This has, in turn, made more LNG available to those nations that lack their own energy resources, with obvious benefits for the world economy. U.S. crude oil exports would provide secure supplies to our allies, increasing U.S. foreign policy leverage and reducing the influence of international suppliers who are not aligned with the U.S., thus enhancing the nation’s energy security. With a greater percent of the world’s oil supplies coming from stable sources in North America, the U.S. will also benefit from having less volatile global crude and consumer fuel prices.
Spurring Economic Development
The oil and natural gas industry is a key driver of U.S. economic growth, supporting 10.3 million jobs while adding $1.3 trillion to the U.S. national economy, representing 7.6 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.
In addition, energy production contributes billions in government revenue through federal, state and local income taxes, severance taxes, royalties and fees. The U.S. government collected almost $6 billion in revenues from royalties, rental costs, and other fees from activities related to energy production on federal and American Indian lands in 2016, according to the Department of Interior’s Office of Natural Resource Revenue. In addition to far-reaching economic benefits, responsibly developing additional oil and natural gas resources will help grow the U.S. economy. The U.S. is already less dependent on foreign producers for natural gas and oil supplies. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is now forecasting an average crude production of 9.31 million barrels per day in 2017.
