Delayed energy projects and regulatory hurdles to domestic oil
production not only cost the United States economy billions of
dollars and millions of jobs, but they also stand in the way of an
elusive goal: true American energy security.
I believe, however, that our nation is within striking range of
that goal and, with the right approach, can achieve it within five
to seven years. We have the resources and technology to produce
more energy than we consume and break our long-standing dependence
on foreign sources of oil. All we need is the will.
In fact, there’s a path to follow, one that North Dakota blazed
over the last decade by building a comprehensive energy plan we
called Empower North Dakota. We worked to create a business
environment that encouraged energy companies across all industry
sectors to invest in our state. We created the kind of legal, tax,
and regulatory certainty that attracted capital, expertise, and
jobs.
North Dakota’s oil industry is just one example of how this
building the right climate for energy development can produce
remarkable results. Just 10 years ago, oil companies had left or
were leaving our state’s oil patch, the Bakken formation, for a
host of reasons: inadequate technology, an aging workforce, lack of
transportation infrastructure, and insufficient data about our oil
reserves. Industry leaders decided they had better places to invest
shareholder dollars and earn a return.
But North Dakotans decided to turn this situation around. Our
measures included:
• Creating a pro-growth tax environment that invited
investment
• Updating geological studies of the Bakken oil formation
• Establishing an oil and gas research fund, paid for by the
industry
• Improving infrastructure
• Creating a pipeline authority to expand transport capacity,
and
• Establishing a petroleum safety and technology center at
Williston State College to train skilled workers.
These steps improved the business environment and drew new
technologies and billions of dollars of investment capital to the
Williston Basin, which unleashed the potential of North Dakota’s
oil patch.
Since 2006, we have surpassed Alaska, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and
California in oil production to become the second largest
oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas. In 2012,
North Dakota produced more than 245 million barrels of oil and
provided nearly 11 percent of all U.S. output.
Notably, North Dakota’s policies weren’t about government
spending for its own sake. They were about creating an environment
for private investment. That approach generated revenues for the
state, broadened the economic base, and actually enabled us to
reduce taxes several times over the past decade.
SINCE COMING to Washington, I have advanced similar initiatives
in the U.S. Senate, measures that will provide the energy industry
with the certainty and business environment it needs to thrive. For
example, the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act (DEJA), which I
introduced this summer with 29 co-sponsors, is a package of 13
diverse energy bills addressing both traditional and renewable
development.
DEJA is designed to streamline and simplify regulations, boost
domestic energy supplies, build American energy
infrastructure—including the Keystone XL pipeline—and safeguard
America’s supply of critical minerals used in high-tech
manufacturing. Like our Empower North Dakota plan, it’s a true
“all-of-the-above” approach to energy development that will drive
America’s overall economic recovery and help advance us toward
energy security.
This legislation is both timely and necessary. A study by the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce released in 2011 cited 351 energy
projects, both renewable and traditional, that were stalled because
of legal, tax, and regulatory uncertainty, at a cost of $1.1
trillion to the American economy and nearly 2 million American
jobs.
A second measure I’ve introduced, the Empower States Act, is
vital to continuing the recent remarkable growth of shale oil
extraction. It will help ensure that states retain primary
authority to manage hydraulic fracturing. The bill takes a
states-first approach because states know their land, their
geology, and their water resources; they have a vital stake in
protecting their environment and citizens. At the same time, the
Empower States Act provides for a safety net that allows the
Environmental Protection Agency to step in if there is a danger to
health or the environment.
The need for a sensible approach to fracking was underscored by
a recent U.S. Chamber study of shale energy production. The study
projects that between 2013 and 2035, the shale energy industry is
expected to invest more than $5 trillion, create nearly 3.5 million
jobs, and generate more than $2.5 trillion in local, state, and
federal tax revenues.
We are at a moment in our history when we can turn adversity
into opportunity and realize a goal—true energy security—that we
could only dream of a generation ago. We must seize this
opportunity to make America stronger, safer, and more financially
secure by developing energy right here at home to meet our needs,
now and for the future.
