Pledging to work with the Biden administration on energy and climate change issues, the head of the oil and gas industry's largest trade group drew a line in the sand on access to federal lands and said the group will use all its tools to fight restrictions.
"We would do everything at our disposal to fight efforts to cut off that kind of supply," including taking the administration to court, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers said at a press conference following API's annual State of American Energy event on Jan. 13.
Sommers said the 2020 election cycle produced legislators who represent the greater middle of the political spectrum, and these lawmakers would be opposed to measures that would raise energy costs to their constituents.
"Such an approach would be widely rejected by the American people because the consequence will be increased costs on consumers," Sommers said. "When you can draw a direct line from a policy action to increased prices for consumers, I think we're going to be on the winning side of that argument."
President-elect Joe Biden has said he intends to restrict oil and gas leasing on federal lands while stopping short of any pledge to restrict hydraulic fracturing, the key technique in modern oil and gas extraction.
Sommers said API is looking forward to working with the Biden administration on crafting "market-based" regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions, specifically methane emissions. The group will also work with Biden on any potential tax on carbon, provided any new taxes or rules fit the trade group's measures for fairness and effectiveness.
"Every company is taking a unique approach to this," Sommers said of the tax, an issue that divides his membership. "Some of our companies have called for a carbon tax."
Environmental groups express skepticism
Giving oil and gas companies a seat at the table to discuss emissions limits is like "the arsonist telling us how to put out the fire," the climate-focused organization 350.org said through spokeswoman Lindsay Meiman. "We know market-based solutions alone cannot meaningfully address the climate crisis. The same systems that caused the climate crisis will not fix it. This is greenwashing 101."
The Environmental Defense Fund said the Biden administration will want to see improvements from the oil and gas industry on methane emission reductions.
"Any trade association efforts to weaken rulemakings will fall on deaf ears as the Biden administration overcomes years of lost time and achieves maximum emission reductions to protect the climate and communities, while helping industry improve," EDF Senior Director Ben Ratner said in a statement. "We encourage companies to demonstrate leadership by offering the data, experience and solutions to support ambitious policy responses that take advantage of emerging technologies and practices to cut emissions dramatically and pragmatically."
Industry has lifted the nation, API says
The Biden administration is starting off with an energy advantage because America is self-sufficient in oil and gas, Sommers said, a position he hopes Biden leverages with a move toward freer trade. Substituting U.S. LNG exports for coal will cut global emissions as countries shift from coal to gas for power generation as the U.S. has done, Sommers said.
"With this breakthrough, American energy is enabling the transition to cleaner power generation and accelerating environmental progress across the world," Sommers said. "U.S. liquefied natural gas exports are a far cleaner option for electricity generation in places like China, India, and other nations in Southeast Asia."
While Sommers defended the industry's own tax deduction for intangible drilling costs as identical to any other manufacturing industry, he said API would oppose tax subsidies to the electric vehicle industry, specifically for any buildout of a network of charging stations.
"We believe that it is important that every vehicle in the marketplace competes on a level playing field," Sommers said. "We never asked the federal government to assist in the buildout of service stations in this country."