Alternative fuels will not replace oil and natural gas in the near future, Denise McCourt of the American Petroleum Institute said Wednesday during the second day of the AWB's spring board meeting in Spokane.
By 2030, the U.S. alone will require 9 percent more energy than it used in 2007, and the world will need 50 percent more energy, McCourt said.
"We're going to need everything that's possibly out there to meet this demand," she said.
McCourt emphasized the importance of "energy security" for the nation's future, and she attempted to dispel some misconceptions about the industry, including one that companies are not building more refineries in an attempt to manipulate prices. It's true that there are fewer refineries now, but it's because building new ones is difficult, she said. An attempt to build a new refinery in Yuma, Ariz. is now seven years old, McCourt said. At the existing refineries, capacity has been expanded, she added.
Efforts to look for more oil reserves on federal land, something that appeared to be on track last year, are now on hold after the election of President Barack Obama. "We're waiting to see what happens," she said. If access is granted, it would yield the federal government $1.7 trillion in revenue over the life of the resource, and create 160,000 new jobs by 2030, McCourt said.
Higher taxes could pose a challenge to the industry, McCourt said, noting that the Obama administration has proposed $400 billion in taxes and fees on the oil and natural gas industry. "People don't think we pay our fair share," she said. "We pay more than our fair share."
A proposal before the U.S. Congress to create a trading system for carbon emissions may cost American families $1,500 each, she added.
The government should not be putting more taxes on the industry at a time when the industry needs to be looking for more resources, not less, McCourt said.
McCourt opened her address to AWB members by remarking on gas prices, which have risen some in recent weeks but are still far below last summer when they rose above $4 per gallon. The $4 per gallon mark proved to be a "tipping point," or the price at which drivers will change their behavior if they can, McCourt said.
She also noted that the cost of diesel fuel, which had been higher than gasoline, is now lower than gasoline. That's evidence of the severity of the economic recession, McCourt said.
And she offered this tip for observers: "When you hear that diesel fuel is coming back up again, that will be one of the signs that we are coming out of the recession."
