Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 2-23-18

OFFSHORE ENERGY
Means Major Local Job Opportunities
By Jack Gerard, President and CEO, American Petroleum Institute
America’s natural gas and oil industry supports 10.3 million U.S. jobs overall -- and counting. A recent report projects the industry could create almost 1.9 million job opportunities by 2035, including hundreds of thousands projected to be held by women, and African American and Hispanic workers.
Offshore energy development offers the opportunity to generate major job growth – especially in coastal states. Opening additional areas to safe and responsible development, as the Interior Department recently proposed, could also bring extra revenue to coastal states and further reduce dependence on overseas energy.
Whenever offshore energy policy is in the spotlight, two questions arise: Is it safe? And do we really need more energy right now?
The fact is offshore operations are safer today
than ever before thanks to new technologies,
real time data analysis, and rigorous safety standards. Immediately after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico incident, the natural gas and oil industry launched a methodical safety review, working closely with members of Congress and multiple federal agencies. More than 100 standards were created or strengthened, and we launched the Center for Offshore Safety to ensure continual safety improvements and systematic monitoring.
Speaking from her state’s experience, former Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana explained that it’s possible to balance energy production with other important coastal economic activities like fishing and tourism: “You can have a coast that is a working coast for fisheries, commercial, recreation, eco-tourism, barges, ships, tourism,
hotels – we have it all... We have men and women graduating from high school that are going to work in the oilfield and they don’t make minimum wage. They can make $80, $90, $100,000 a year. And that means a lot to their families, and it sends a lot of kids to college from south Louisiana.”
For non-coastal areas that haven’t benefited from tourism, offshore energy development can be a revitalizing economic lifeline across the state. In a hearing last year, South Carolina State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch explained that “it is imperative that you remember places like Andrews and Conway, and Georgetown, South Carolina, where the ‘golden egg’ of tourism hasn’t helped eradicate poverty. For those who live in Andrews and Conway and Georgetown, oil and gas would be their ‘golden egg,’ bringing non-seasonal, high-paying jobs – that don’t require
a college degree – and hope for a prosperous economic future for the generations to come.”
Next is the question of urgency. Considering the United States leads the world in production and refining of natural gas and oil, should expanding offshore exploration be a priority right now? Absolutely. We didn’t reach our current level of energy security overnight. Given the long lead
time necessary in offshore development, it’s good common sense to keep as many options on the
table as possible in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic. Decisions we make today determine our energy security 15 years into the future, and beyond.
A recent Washington Post article on U.S. energy security stated, “The current abundance has erased memories of 1973 gas[oline] lines, which raised pump prices dramatically, traumatizing the United States and reordering its economy.”
Our success may erase those memories, but it doesn’t erase the need to move forward. Eighty percent of U.S. voters support increased domestic natural gas and oil production, and government projections show we’ll need it. Natural gas and oil will supply an estimated 60 percent of U.S. energy needs in 2040, and worldwide energy demand will jump almost 30 percent in the coming decades. It’s time we take advantage of the wealth of offshore energy waiting to be safely unlocked, to create jobs and ensure American energy security.
Natural gas and oil are integral to innovations that safely and e ciently supply our daily energy needs, as well as the modern products that make our lives safer, healthier and more convenient. Natural gas and oil also boost innovation in manufacturing and various other fields that support growth, prosperity, discovery and human advancement. The future belongs to innovators. The natural gas and oil industry is committed to cultivating a more diverse workforce, which will be critical to fostering the innovation, collaboration and ideas needed to propel society forward. Through 2035, African American and Hispanic workers are projected to account for close to 40 percent of the more than 1.9 million job opportunities within the industry. A robust workforce will make the industry stronger, equipping us to serve the families, businesses and communities who rely on a ordable, reliable natural gas and oil every day. Because diversity powers innovation.
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