Trump has talked about Americas Energy Renaissance" and the many regulatory roadblocks to energy independence that have been set up by the Obama Administration since 2008.
When U.S. oil production peaked at 9.7 million barrels per day in April 2015 the nation was within 5 million barrels per day of being entirely self-sufficient in crude oil. Oil production has declined to 8.9 million barrels per day in April 2016 because of low prices a decline in activity and burdensome regulation.
At the height of the energy renaissance employment in the petroleum industry was rising at a record pace. Net imports of petroleum liquids fell to 25 of U.S. consumption; Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities that were originally designed to import LNG have been retrofitted to export LNG because America now produces excess natural gas resulting in a nationwide oversupply.
Trump believes each barrel of oil produced in the U.S. creates jobs pays taxes builds the economy and replaces another barrel of oil that must be imported. Domestic oil production enhances national security he has said.
He points out that building a strong domestic energy industry would make America great again."
Clinton hasnt talked much about energy but has said she supports increasing wind and solar power through policies restricting the usage and production of fossil fuels.
She emphasizes the importance of expanding the implementation of exotic energy sources and wants to have 500 million solar panels installed by 2025.
Clinton believes America can and should reduce greenhouse gases by reducing its consumption of coal and oil but has also acknowledged that natural gas should be a bridge fuel" to facilitate increased use of wind and solar.
The Democratic Nation Committee has formally adopted a proposal calling for an America run entirely on clean energy by mid-century."
Regarding oil and gas drilling in the U.S. Clinton said in a March debate that if elected president she does not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place."
More Optimism for Recovering Oil & Gas Industry
Even though the oil and gas industry remains in a tough economic climate some leading companies believe that better days are ahead. One of those companies is the worlds largest oilfield service company Schlumberger.
Just last week Schlumberger said it sees recovery in many regions of the world. The only place where we dont see any signs of recovery at this stage is in Asia Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard said.
Schlumberger said it expects solid growth in 2017 in the Middle East Russia and North America.
In Texas some economic signs of stability were insufficient to halt the decline in the Texas Petro Index (TPI) a composite index of economic indicators in Texas. The TPI declined for the 22nd consecutive month to 149.0 two-thirds of its value in September 2015.
I was hoping the TPI was going to post its first monthly increase in September" economist Karr Ingham the author of TPI said. But the upstream recovery remains a slow process."
Ingham said that absent a rapid expansion of demand that would help absorb the current crude oil oversupply any solution to market imbalance must come from the supply side of the ledger. With OPEC members and Russia apparently unable to agree on a plan to curtail oil output U.S. production needs to continue declining to provide upside support to crude oil prices he said.The response of upstream investment to current prices and cost structures will set the stage for a sustained recovery at some point in the future" Ingham said.
We may want the recovery to be faster but that probably isnt the best outcome right now."
Ingham said that crude oil production in Texas totaled an estimated 92.6 million barrels 9.6 percent less than in September 2015. Texas produced an estimated 663.8 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas in September a year-over-year monthly decline of about 8.2 percent. The Baker Hughes count of active drilling rigs in Texas averaged 244 33.5 percent fewer units than in September 2015 when an average of 367 rigs were working. Drilling activity in Texas peaked in September 2008 at a monthly average of 946 rigs before falling to a trough of 329 in June 2009. In the most recent economic expansion which began in December 2009 the statewide average monthly rig count peaked at 932 in May and June 2012. The Texas Railroad Commission issued in September 746 original drilling permits compared to 906 in September 2015 a decline of 17.7 percent. From January to September the RRC has issued 5576 drilling permits a decrease of 34.9 percent from the same period last year. Employment in the upstream oil and gas industry is down 16 percent compared to September 2015. An estimated 203525 Texans remained employed.
There are signs that a recovery is on the way but some obstacles remain.
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers is an oil & gas trade association that represents some 3000 members. It has offices in Austin Houston Fort Worth & Wichita Falls. Alex Mills is President of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
