During his 2014 State of American Energy speech, API President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Gerard talked optimistically about how US shale oil and gas have revitalized the US economy and changed the geopolitical landscape. The speech also touched on the impact of future policy decisions on America's energy revolution.
"We can erase what for decades has been America's greatest economic vulnerability--our dependence on energy sources from other continents, particularly from less stable and less friendly nations--and fundamentally alter the geopolitical landscape for decades to come, all while providing a much needed boost to our economy, he said. “But we can do that only if we get our energy policy right.”
He discussed steps API is taking to get the positive domestic energy security story out to the public. "To lead the energy policy discussion and educate the public on the game changing impact of the choices our nation faces when it comes to energy policy, API's 2014 messaging and advocacy theme is America's Energy, America's Choice," Gerard said. "It distills America's energy policy discussion down to a basic choice: An American energy future of energy abundance, self-sufficiency and global leadership or energy scarcity, dependence and economic uncertainty."
Gerard also unveiled the results of a new study by IHS, which estimates that capital spending in oil and gas midstream and downstream infrastructure has increased by 60% between 2010 and 2013, from $56.3 billion to $89.6 billion. This increase in capital spending has provided both an economic stimulus and further proof of how shale driven oil and gas production is reshaping the US oil and gas infrastructure landscape, according to the report. The IHS analysis also estimates that $85 to $90 billion of direct capital will be allocated toward oil and gas infrastructure in 2014. The IHS forecast of oil and gas infrastructure investment over the next 12 years (2014-2025) estimates a cumulative spending of $890 billion (in 2012 dollars) in the base case, and $1.15 trillion in the high production case.
