Oklahoma consumers save using natural gas, says new report

A new report from the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) found that Oklahoma families and businesses saved about $8 billion from natural gas in their energy bills over the last 10 years.

Residential energy users in the state saved more than $2.6 billion, while commercial and industrial users saved almost $5.5 billion in their natural gas bills between 2006 and 2016, according to the report, called Oil and Natural Gas Energize Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is the fifth-largest shale gas producer in the country. Oklahoma’s refineries are interconnected to the nation’s larger pipeline network.

“Until Houston’s prominence in international oil exploration began, Oklahoma and more specifically, Tulsa, used to be known as the oil capital of the world, and to this day continues to remind people of its significance as the epicenter for international benchmark pricing for oil. The energy industry in the state is intricately tied to this nation’s past and its future, spoken about both socially and in classic literature,” CEA Mid-Continent Director Wyatt Boutwell said. “The state’s families and businesses understand what energy affords them and work hard to meet in the middle when it comes to development. We hope the state’s leaders and its communities continue to see the value the energy industry brings to the state and their local cities.”

The report also found that the oil and gas industry provided more than 399,000 jobs in the state in 2016 and generated $39.5 billion in gross domestic product.

CEA is a consumer advocacy organization for the energy industry.