Allow the energy sector to create jobs

One of the topics I've emphasized in this column time and again is the need to create jobs, especially in this period of high unemployment. In that regard, I'll give President Obama credit for one thing – he belatedly recognized that the EPA's tighter standards for smog-forming ozone would halt projects and cost the country thousands, if not millions, of jobs. So he asked the EPA to withdraw the air-quality rule until the country is back on its feet.

In making the move, the White House must have determined it had more to lose from widespread criticism in the business community and among Republican and independent voters than it had to gain from environmental groups that support the rule. GOP presidential hopefuls undoubtedly would have used this against him by showing he isn't serious about creating jobs. As Obama prepares to deliver a "jobs speech" to a joint session of Congress and to the nation on Sept. 8, his credibility as a job creator is very much on the line. We cautiously await his proposal and hope he does something that will encourage the business community to resume hiring.

There are a number of steps he could take in the energy sector that would stimulate growth and jobs creation. One of these is to support much-needed infrastructure projects such as the proposed $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline expansion, which would transport oil from Canada's oil sands in western Canada to refineries in Oklahoma, Illinois, and the US Gulf Coast, where the line would terminate.

The economic benefits of Keystone are obvious. Not only would the Keystone XL pipeline provide greater energy security for the US by allowing us to import more oil from our friendly northern neighbor rather than, shall we say, less friendly nations in other parts of the world, the pipeline construction alone could create 20,000 US jobs. According to CERI (the Canadian Energy Research Institute), new oil sands investments in Canada will create 444,000 new permanent US jobs and generate $521 billion in additional revenues by 2035.

The construction project would have a direct economic impact on all the states along the 2,000-mile-plus length of the pipeline, and that includes not only pipeline workers but vendors and supplies in additional states. Nearly all state officials along the pipeline's path support the expansion project, as do labor unions, which have urged the administration in Washington to jump on the bandwagon.

Energy security is also an important consideration. The American Petroleum Institute estimates that increasing US exploration and production activity both onshore and offshore, along with increased imports of Canadian crude, could provide 92% of US liquid fuel demands by 2035. Reducing our dependence on foreign energy sources has been a stated goal of every administration in Washington since the time of Jimmy Carter. Isn't it time we took some significant steps to achieve that goal?

Environmentalists and some members of Congress are off the mark in opposing the Keystone XL project. Yes, our country needs to reduce its appetite for energy and improve energy efficiency in the home, at work, and especially in the transportation sector. As our economy has boomed, our energy consumption has turned into an addiction. But putting up new wind farms and adding solar panels to residential and commercial construction will not cure this illness. Neither technology is used in the transportation sector, which is 99.9% reliant on fossil fuels today. Until and unless we develop a technology that changes this equation, we will continue to rely on petroleum products to power our cars and trucks.

But, back to jobs. The National Gas Supply Association (NGSA) just released an economic analysis of natural gas and oil development in the Gulf of Mexico. It indicates that the US could add $45 billion to the American economy and 430,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs in the next two years if we return to historical permitting levels.

R. Skip Horvath, president and CEO of NGSA, said, "If the federal government makes the right decisions, we can add tens of billions of dollars to our nation's gross domestic product and add 190,000 new direct jobs over the next two years. Those are real, American jobs that will positively impact many more states than those touching the Gulf [of Mexico]."

We agree. By allowing the private sector to create jobs, the government will increase tax revenue, which can be used to reduce our burgeoning deficit. The energy industry is more than willing to do its part.

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