Kudos to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Ron Wyden for a series of hearings on natural gas issues, including Tuesday's on the impacts of exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). It’s vital that policymakers understand the scope of America’s natural gas wealth – thanks to hydraulic fracturing – so they can make decisions that will let this wealth work for Americans. The export of LNG is a prime example.

Currently, the Energy Department is considering 18 applications for U.S. facilities that would export American LNG to friends and allies overseas. Studied analyses have projected broad job and economic benefits to the U.S. from LNG exports (here and here), with a new report this week dispelling the notion that exports would significantly impact domestic prices. These reports s... more »

On the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama’s decision boils down to this: Is the $7 billion project in the United States’ national interest? Economic, energy and environmental considerations figure into the answer, but ultimately the president is charged with determining whether Keystone XL will make our country stronger and safer without significantly impacting the environment and the people along its 1,179-mile route.

We say yes – for a number of good reasons.

The pipeline will make the U.S. stronger – economically, by creating jobs and providing broad economic stimulus, and more energy secure by bringing more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day to our Gulf Coast refineries from a friendly, stable source (Canada) as well as the U.S. Bakken region. As for the environment, four separ... more »

Terrific video below from the folks at Oil Sands Fact Check, featuring regular Americans with a message for President Obama: Approve the Keystone XL pipeline now.

Listen to the pleas for approval of the full Keystone XL project – from people who’ve been waiting more than four years for the jobs and economic benefits construction of the pipeline would bring:

“We just want jobs. … A key part of the election was the economy. We need the jobs.”

“Delaying it any further is just harming the United States of America, and it’s harming the workers that are skilled and trained and ready to get to work.”

“Mr. President, I hope you stand behind your word and support labor, and you get behind the pipeline and you give American workers a job.”

“I’d have more money to su... more »

Quick facts about the Keystone XL pipeline project and Canada’s oil sands resources:

• Construction of the Keystone XL would generate 20,000 jobs during that phase, according to builder TransCanada.

• Oil sands development associated with the Keystone XL could support 117,000 new U.S. jobs by 2035, according to the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI).

• New oil sands development could support more than 500,000 additional U.S. jobs by 2035 (CERI).

• $20 billion could be injected into the U.S. economy by the full Keystone XL project, which would pay more than $5 billion in taxes to local counties over its life.

• The full Keystone XL pipeline will be able to transport 830,000 barrels of North American oil per day – from Canada’s oil sands region as well as the Bakken fields... more »

More than 97 percent of stock in U.S. oil and natural gas companies is held by the public, including many Americans who depend on these earnings to secure their retirements through investments in IRAs, 401(k)s and pension funds. So when oil and natural gas company earnings are strong, it’s good news for retirees. In fact, we conducted a study showing that public pension funds benefit greatly through investments in oil and natural gas industry stocks.

A follow-on recent study showed some of America’s most important institutions – its colleges and universities – realize a significant economic benefit as owners of oil and natural gas companies.

Over the last decade America’s colleges and universities have enjoyed strong returns from their investments in the industry, which have outpe... more »