EnergyFactor By ExxonMobil | Pespectives has a new home

Energy and the Economy

People know the U.S. has dramatically increased domestic production of oil and gas the last few years, but by how much? How about 100 times as much? That’s the experience in North Dakota’s Bakken formation, where production in July exceeded 600,000 barrels of oil per day — up from 6,000 bpd just six years ago. Those numbers are a testament to the natural resource revolution spurred by innovative technologies that enable production from unconventional sources like shale and tight rock.

In their platforms’ energy planks, both the Democrats and the Republicans call for what each party describes as an “all-of-the-above” energy policy – a phrase intended to include everything from oil and natural gas to nuclear, coal, hydropower, and renewables. This is a welcome development, but with one major caveat.


If you were trying to think up a sure-fire way to undercut the competitiveness of U.S. oil and gas companies, you would be hard pressed to find a more effective method than the one just provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier today the SEC voted new regulations into effect that will significantly disadvantage publicly traded oil and gas companies listed in the United States against our foreign competitors, especially state-owned national oil companies.

One billion dollars every single day. That is the rough measure of the benefit the U.S. economy is estimated to receive by the end of this year thanks to the development of new supplies of oil and natural gas, according to a new analysis.


A lot of factors go into determining the price of gasoline, so it’s worthwhile every now and again to review them. A good piece in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal does just that, asking simply why gas costs what it does. The author – an analyst for a taxpayer watchdog group – gives a quick rundown of the basics, like crude oil costs, which can account for roughly three-quarters of the price consumers pay at the pump. Then there are expenses for refining, distribution and marketing. But he also reveals one slice of the gas price pie routinely overlooked by those who criticize energy companies or gas station owners for high prices. He writes, “The truth is that governments rake in a larger profit at the pump than anyone,” including companies like ExxonMobil.

Evidence continues to mount showing that the rise in oil and natural gas production from unconventional sources in the United States is yielding tremendous economic benefits for Americans. A recent demonstration comes courtesy of the team running the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program. Several weeks ago they launched an interactive version of their quarterly MetroMonitor feature, which examines the latest economic data to gauge the health of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.



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