API President and CEO Mike Sommers believes "we've only scratched the surface of the opportunity" in the U.S. energy industry. "United States energy producers are breaking records left and right," said Sommers. "We lead the world in natural gas and oil production, and we're on track to become a net energy exporter next year -- for the first time in 70 years.
"We're producing more energy in more places than ever before. This welcome shift requires infrastructure, and building that infrastructure creates jobs."
Sommers added that API's research shows building the infrastructure needed to keep pace with record energy production can support up to 1 million-plus jobs per year -- jobs building pipelines and transforming natural gas import facilities into export terminals.
"That makes API's partnership with the building trades more important than ever," Sommers said at North America's Building Trades Unions' (NABTU's) 2019 U.S. Legislative Conference held recently in Washington, D.C. "The energy industry depends on the safest, best-trained skilled workers ⦠And I'm p roud of joint efforts like the Pipeline Construction Safety Training Program we launched a few months ago, which helps match those skilled workers with jobs that support the U.S. energy resurgence.
"Our work together reinforces so many of our mutual priorities, like ensuring safe operations, creating jobs with middle class-sustaining wages and building infrastructure to support long-term economic growth. Those aren't just priorities shared by our two industries; they're priorities shared by Americans from coast to coast and at every point on the political spectrum.
Our latest polling shows 84-percent support for building energy infrastructure, including strong majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents. They know that energy infrastructure creates jobs and delivers affordable energy to homes and businesses."
Access to affordable energy, Sommers noted, is key to adding manufacturing jobs and revitalizing communities across the country. As an example, he cited a new manufacturing plant going up in Pennsylvania, which will generate 6,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs.
"And this is in a community that has suffered multiple plant closures in recent years," he said. "Thanks to affordable natural gas in the Marcellus Shale -- and infrastructure to transport it -- things are turning around for this community.
"In Texas, JSW Steel just announced a $500 million investment, and they cited 'access to natural gas at extremely economical prices' as a driver."
Sommers remarked that political leaders who "champion building roads and bridges" do so because "they know infrastructure development delivers jobs for American workers," and he would add "energy infrastructure" to that list of advantageous building projects. "For anyone who has doubts about energy infrastructure, I'll give you two numbers: 99 and 1," he explained. "Pipelines deliver their products at a safety rate of 99.99 percent. And the United States is No. 1 in the world in reducing carbon emissions -- that's thanks to clean natural gas.
"The facts show that energy production and infrastructure development are compatible with environmental progress. And the partnership the building trades and the energy industry has built ⦠demonstrates that we can build infrastructure that is safe and creates good paying jobs.
"Our work together shows that our commitment to environmental stewardship starts even before we break ground; it starts in the training process. With permitting reforms that bring greater efficiency and transparency to the approval process, we can get it done."
For more information, visit www.api.org or call (202) 682-8000.
