American Petroleum Institute releases report on benefits of oil, natural gas industry

The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently released a new report highlighting ways that the U.S. oil and natural gas industry safety, environmental and economic practices benefit local communities.

“Energy development can enhance communities in countless ways not always recognized,” API Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer Marty Durbin said. “America’s natural gas and oil industry is committed to producing more energy while reducing our footprint and improving the efficiency and safety of our operations and helping local communities where we operate.”

According to the report, the United States has an oil resource that can meet 75 years of current demand and a natural gas resource that can meet up to 145 years of current demand.

The report also said that, between 1990 and 2015, methane emissions from natural gas systems decreased by 16.3 percent overall and 59 percent from hydraulically fractured natural gas wells while the electric power sector’s natural gas consumption increased nearly 200 percent. The natural gas and oil industry invested $90 billion in zero- and low-carbon technologies between 2000 and 2014, API said.

The paper also highlighted the jobs the industry creates, civic and environmental conservation projects sponsored by the industry and investments made in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. API also cited the nearly 700 standards maintains to increase safety across the energy.

“America’s natural gas and oil industry provides the affordable, reliable energy that is the lifeblood of our economy, and we understand that the nation’s prosperity fundamentally relies on our industry’s ability to produce more of these resources in a way that promotes safety, benefits our communities and values environmental stewardship,” Durbin said.