As the nation celebrated its independence, a new report from Texans For Natural Gas details how the Lone Star State and the Permian Basin have led to a national independence from imported oil.
Texas is breaking oil and natural gas production records, and the Permian Basin recently surpassed Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar field as the world’s top oil-producing field. The Permian, already producing more than 4 million barrels of oil a day, is forecast to double that in four years. The Permian also produces the second most natural gas of any field in the U.S.
“Texas oil and gas are doing more than just reducing our reliance on imports,” Steve Everley, spokesman for Texans for Natural Gas, told the Reporter-Telegram by email. “We are providing our trading partners with a more reliable source of energy, and dollars are flowing back into the United States. We have renewed geopolitical leverage. Fifteen years ago, experts warned about natural gas shortages and how manufacturers should invest in the Middle East. Thanks to the Texas-led shale revolution, manufacturers have announced more than $200 billion of investments in the United States over the past decade, including nearly $70 billion here in Texas.
“We’re bringing manufacturing jobs back, reducing our trade deficit and shielding ourselves from the kind of volatility that has harmed American motorists and households in the past,” he said. “Every president since Richard Nixon has tried and failed to deliver the kind of economic miracle that we are now experiencing in Texas.”
Everley said petroleum has dropped from 66 percent of the U.S. trade deficit in April 2011 to just 2.1 percent in December, while in 2009, two-thirds of the crude oil processed in American refineries was imported. That has flipped so that today, two-thirds of the oil processed in American refineries is produced domestically.
But Everley said there are possible hurdles along the path toward continued energy security.
“Keeping the Texas energy boom alive will require more pipelines and other infrastructure,” he said. “That includes expanding our ports in places like Houston, Corpus Christi and Brownsville. There is a small but vocal minority of activists who oppose energy infrastructure in Texas, and they are pressuring state and local policymakers to introduce new regulations that would hamstring future growth. We cannot allow these fringe groups, many of whom receive funding from California and Washington, D.C. to dictate the future of our economy in Texas.”
Takeaways from Texans For Natural Gas report
- Texas’ energy production records
The Permian Basin recently overtook Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar as world’s top-producing oilfield and produces the second most natural gas of any field in the United States. - Reducing the trade deficit
Petroleum has dropped from 66 percent of the U.S. trade deficit in April 2011 to just 2.1 percent in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. - Exporting powerhouse
Driven by energy exports, Laredo surpassed Los Angeles in March as the nation’s top trade port. Also, the value of Texas monthly crude exports increased by more than 1,780 percent in just three years — January 2016 to January 2019. - American manufacturing renaissance
The petrochemical manufacturing sector in Texas has seen $69 billion in new capital investment since 2010 and employs an estimated 878,000 people.
Mella McEwen is the Oil Editor and covers the latest business and energy news. Read her on our news site, MRT.com. |mmcewen@mrt.com|
Photo as posted on MRT
