Texas coastal gas drilling fuels jobs, clean energy. Why would Joe Biden curtail it?
In these tough times, all of us are looking for signs of optimism, especially when it comes to getting the economy back on track. Here in Texas, one of the answers is right under our feet: our natural gas sector.
It has been a bright spot amid the economic woes of 2020, and it’s keeping tens of thousands of Texans working while providing low-cost, reliable energy that consumers need.
Today, Texas produces more natural gas than any other state. It has the potential to ramp up production even further if demand increases. The reason? Lawmakers in Washington and Austin have worked hard to promote all forms of energy development.
While both presidential candidates have been generally supportive of natural gas production on private land, Democrat Joe Biden has promised, if elected, to impose a ban on natural gas leases on federal lands. Federal lands include leases under federal waters on the outer continental shelf. That is of real concern because 22 percent of the nation’s total oil production and 12 percent of its natural gas production come from federal lands and waters.
Politically, a federal leasing ban would seem to be out of touch with the voting public. A recent Morning Consult poll found that 64 percent of swing state voters prefer candidates who support “policies that ensure consumers continue to have access to natural gas and oil produced in the U.S.”
A federal leasing ban certainly would be tone deaf in Texas, where 9% of all natural gas operations occurs from federal leases, mostly in the federal outer continental shelf.
In Texas, a federal leasing ban would wreak economic havoc. A recent American Petroleum Institute analysis estimating that Texas would be harmed more than any other state, losing almost 120,000 well-paying jobs.
A federal leasing ban also threatens American national security. The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas. A federal leasing ban would reduce domestic production of natural gas, disrupting energy around the world. If our allies can’t get American natural gas, they have to turn to Russia or the Middle East.
Today, the natural gas industry supports nearly 3 million jobs and adds about $385 billion to the national economy each year. That number could grow by another 930,000 shale gas-related manufacturing jobs by 2030 and 1.41 million by 2040, according to projections by reputable energy experts.
This energy abundance supplied by natural gas results in a typical working family saving an average of $874 a year on heating, cooking and drying clothes. That’s much-needed money for families that live paycheck to paycheck.
Sadly, Biden has been pushed leftward on energy policy. This is angerous for the economy, and ironically, the environment itself. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, which has led to reduced emissions. Natural gas-derived clean technology has already helped utilities reduce carbon emissions by 28 percent between 2005 and 2017.
The switch from coal to natural cut greenhouse gas emissions to their lowest level since 1992. However, the Energy Information Administration is projecting the use of coal nationally to increase from 18% this year to 22% next year because of higher natural gas prices.
Biden’s proposal to ban natural gas leasing on federal lands will cost thousands of good paying jobs in the U S. It will reduce domestic supplies of natural gas. It will reduce exports of natural gas to our allies and impede our national security. It will increase energy prices and hurt consumers, and it will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
Simply put, a leasing ban is wrong for Texas and wrong for America.
Joe Barton is a former Republican congressman who represented the Arlington-based Sixth District and a former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.