Yesterday American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Jack Gerard outlined “The State of American Energy” and the role the oil and natural gas industry in economic growth, job creation and energy security.

During his speech, Gerard stressed the role that oil and natural gas would play in the country’s energy policy but he cautioned that the country must “get our nation’s energy policy right today”.

“If we are to continue our nation’s current positive energy production trends, we must
implement energy policies based on current reality and our potential as an energy leader, not the outdated political ideology of the professional environmental fringe or
political dilettantes,” said Gerard. “American energy policy should reflect the reality that someone will benefit from helping to meet the world’s ever growing need for energy.”

“Because make no mistake; energy, specifically oil and natural gas, will remain foundational to our way of life. Broadly, demand for energy worldwide will continue its upward trajectory. For the foreseeable future, we will need more energy from all sources: wind, solar, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, coal and biofuels to meet the world’s ever growing need for energy,” Gerard added.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 25 years from now, oil and natural gas will provide nearly 60 percent of the country’s energy and more than 90 percent of the country’s transportation fuels.

In reaction to Gerard’s speech, Growth Energy’s CEO Tom Buis responded, “API’s ‘State of American Energy’ speech, brought to you by Big Oil, is nothing new. While oil companies talk about the future of energy in this country, they seem fixated on a finite resource and fail to acknowledge that renewable fuels play a critical role in meeting the nation’s growing energy needs of the future.”

“While they may mention an ‘all of the above’ approach, the reality is that they continue to pursue ‘all of the above, except renewables.’ API may believe the resurgence of American energy production is limited to fossil fuels, but the reality is that across America, innovators are producing first and second generation biofuels that help fuel our nation,” continued Buis.

“Furthermore, the growth in domestic fossil fuel production simply falls short of the overwhelming energy needs of our nation. In fact, the most recent data show total U.S. oil consumption at a whopping 18.5 million barrels per day and domestic production at 6.48 million barrels per day,” continued Buis. “So, even during what API describes as an ‘energy renaissance’ of domestic production, we are only producing slightly more than one-third of what we consume each day. This is simply not sustainable.”

Buis said that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is working. He noted that since 2005, renewable fuels have helped decrease foreign oil imports by 33 percent. In addition, the biofuels industry has helped create some 400,000 good paying jobs that cannot be outsourced, all while improving the environment with a cleaner burning fuel that provides consumers savings and a choice at the pump.

“The API wants to kill any competition that may threaten their bottom line and record profits,” continued Buis. “They will stop at nothing to end the Renewable Fuel Standard, blocking the wide spread adoption of renewable fuels that consumers demand by maintaining the blend wall to prevent market access for higher blends of biofuels such as E15 to ensure that their lock on the fuels market goes unchecked.”

Buis concluded, “The RFS is the most successful energy policy this nation has enacted in the last 40 years. Not only is it creating jobs, it is revitalizing rural economies and driving America’s robust farm economy. The RFS is a win-win for America, as it is an essential part of a true “all of the above” energy strategy needed to meet the growing energy demands of the 21st century.”