First off, sincere thanks to U.S. Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts for the set of questions sent this way recently, concerning the oil and natural gas industry's job-creating ability and other issues. Though the congressman doesn't care much for our industry and might be motivated more by politics than a quest for knowledge, it's still a great opportunity to talk about the role oil and gas can play in America's economic and energy future.

API President and CEO Jack Gerard responded to Congressman Markey in a detailed letter Wednesday. Gerard also discussed the letter's key points in a conference call with reporters:

"Some people still don't get it. And some have resorted to various antics to distort the facts about our industry's ability to create jobs, to provide an economic stimulus t... more »

In case you missed it over the weekend, a must-read Wall Street Journal editorial on oil and natural gas job creation [subscription required]:

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that the U.S. jobless rate remains a dreadful 9%. But look more closely at the data and you can see which industries are bucking the jobless trend. One is oil and gas production, which now employs some 440,000 workers, an 80% increase, or 200,000 more jobs, since 2003. Oil and gas jobs account for more than one in five of all net new private jobs in that period."

As the Journal notes later on, there's been lots of arguing about the oil and gas industry's job-generating ability since September, when the Wood Mackenzie consulting firm released a report saying industry activity could create a million ne... more »

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, in an interview aired Sunday by energyNOW on hydraulic fracturing regulation:

"The vast majority of oil and gas production is regulated at the state level. There are issues of whether or not the federal government can add to protection and also peace of mind for citizens by looking at large issues like air pollution impacts, which can be regional. ... So it's not to say that there isn't a federal role, but you can't start to talk about a federal role without acknowledging the very strong state role."

And more:

"We have no data right now that lead us to believe one way or the other that there needs to be specific federal regulation of the fracking process."

And here was Administrator Jackson, interviewed Monday, again talking [subscription required] about hyd... more »

Don't know if Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley was a math major, but he's promoting an equation that certainly adds up: E = J.

"Energy equals jobs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Cawley told a recent gathering of Bucks County business owners and students. Pennsylvania is having an energy/jobs revolution right now with natural gas development from the Marcellus shale play. Gas drilling supports 300,000 jobs in the state with an average annual wage of $74,000, Cawley said. More jobs are forecast, with Penn State researchers saying 212,000 additional positions will be generated by Marcellus activity.

The effects of the Pennsylvania equation aren't even limited to Pennsylvania. The southern tier of neighboring New York, where companies are reacting to demand next door, is getting a boost... more »

Every job counts. Yet, in an economy where 14 million Americans are out of work, you'll still hear or read things disparaging honest employment - like the shots taken at a recent study that said the oil and natural gas industry could generate more than 1 million new jobs by 2020.

Some dismiss the analysis because it would take eight years to create a million new jobs - as though nearly 200,000 jobs next year and more than 600,000 by 2015 are immaterial. Others scoff at "induced" jobs spun off from industry operations, as though jobs as secretaries, IT support professionals and gasoline station cashiers don't count. A headline on one blog site recently said that with the Keystone XL pipeline on hold, America could focus on creating "real jobs" - as though the project's requirements for work... more »