Energy and the Economy
No more excuses on Keystone XL
The list of reasons for why the Obama administration should proceed with final regulatory approval of the Keystone XL pipeline continues to lengthen. Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman recently gave his blessing to an adjustment to the pipeline’s planned route in the Cornhusker State. The re-routing satisfies local environmental concerns about the project’s potential effects on the Ogallala Aquifer. Judging by the governor’s action and analysis by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, those concerns have been addressed.
A snapshot of ExxonMobil in 2012
ExxonMobil’s year-end earnings were announced today, and our 2012 worldwide profit was $44.9 billion. Here are a few facts that you might want to consider when you hear some talking about increasing our taxes. The first is that ExxonMobil’s direct contribution to the U.S. economy in 2012 was $68 billion. That works out to $5.6 billion a month … $1.3 billion every week … or $186 million every single day in direct contributions to the American economy.
Who owns ExxonMobil? Chances are you do.
Targeting the oil and gas industry for higher taxes has become an annual event, and 2013 should be no exception. The fact is, though, that oil and gas companies already pay $86 million dollars every single day to the federal government in rents, royalties, bonus payments and income tax payments. More than that, when politicians talk about higher taxes for oil companies, chances are they’re really talking about taxing you.
Exports debate shows new oil and gas production creating American jobs
This morning, ExxonMobil filed our submission with the U.S Department of Energy for the open-comment period of a recent study on the economic implications of LNG exports. That study concluded that natural gas exports would yield net economic benefits for the United States. Its conclusions also reinforce the fact that the country’s enormous natural gas resource base can support both growing domestic use of natural gas for manufacturing and electricity generation as well as LNG exports.
Honest debate on exports requires adherence to facts
Last week, a small gaggle of companies petitioned the federal government to limit the ability of other companies to export their products – in this case liquefied natural gas (LNG). This small group – which calls itself America’s Energy Advantage (AEA) – is playing a weak hand, given what we know about the economic benefits realized by those nations that embrace free trade. Their anti-exports position is not helped by the “facts” the group is marshaling to defend its position that free trade for energy products will cause economic harm.
Opponents of LNG exports miss the paradigm shift
The technological revolution that has unleashed the tremendous increase in U.S. domestic energy production has turned traditional thinking about America’s energy and economic policies on its head. As a result, in just a short period of time our public policy debates have transitioned from multi-decade discussions of scarcity and limits to growth, to discussions of American energy abundance and the enormous benefits that it can offer. Yet not everyone has gotten that message.
