PA Environment Digest Blog: Oil & Gas Industry And Their Politicians Are Pushing Hard To Hook Us To Volatile Foreign Energy Markets Where There Is No Limit On What They Can Charge You

Think about this simple fact-- there is no limit on what the oil and gas industry can charge you for gasoline, diesel fuel or heating oil to heat your home and the spiking cost of natural gas is dramatically pushing up the cost of electricity for everyone because its price is determined on volatile foreign energy markets.

It’s always been that way, but should it continue?

The oil and gas industry and their politicians are pushing hard to hook us more firmly to unstable foreign energy markets with no limits on how high the price can go.

It’s no secret why the natural gas industry is asking to be “unleashed” so they can drill more wells, build more pipelines and more LNG loading facilities with fewer safeguards-- the price for LNG has gone up ten times what it was just one year ago.

It’s no secret why the natural gas industry hasn’t used 40 percent of their permits in Pennsylvania or why thousands of gas wells are shut in and not producing and 65 percent of the shale gas leases on State Forest land haven’t been developed-- the price of natural gas wasn’t high enough and they couldn’t charge you more.

The stark reality of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine put a spotlight on how Europe got hooked on natural gas without thinking about what dependency on this energy source would cost them-- in money and independence-- by lashing them firmly to volatile, unstable energy markets where a despot’s actions could make them economically vulnerable overnight.

The European Commission last week put out a plan that proposes replacing natural gas from any source in key sectors of their economy, dramatically expanding energy efficiency and home-grown renewable energy to get away from this dependency and volatile markets. Read more here.

Yet, the oil and gas industry and their politicians continue to promote the theme of “rescuing” Europe by “unleashing” their industry to dramatically expand their operations.

In reality, they are looking at the Russian invasion of the Ukraine as a marketing opportunity to get more customers irreversibly hooked on their product far into the future.

Remember, there is no limit to what an unstable oil and gas market can charge you for their product.

Here’s a sampling of articles from around the world last week on the “Big Picture” of the volatile energy markets and how it is impacting us as individuals, our businesses and the cost of most things in the economy--

In Pennsylvania

-- New European Commission REPowerEU Plan Does Not Justify Dramatic Increase In Drilling, Gas Infrastructure Build Out PA Natural Gas Politicians Are Calling For [PaEN]

-- PA Natural Gas Politicians Want To ‘Unleash’ PA’s Gas Industry - What We Need First Is For Industry To Take Up The Slack; Oil & Gas 2.0; True Energy Independence [PaEN]

-- Senate Budget Hearings: PA’s Experience With New Pipeline Construction Shows State Laws Not Strong Enough To Prevent Environmental Damage, Protect Public Safety [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Industry And Their Politicians Are Pushing Hard To Hook Us To Volatile Foreign Energy Markets Where There Is No Limit On What They Can Charge You [PaEN]

-- 2 Republican Senators Lay Out Agenda For Deregulating Oil & Gas Industry, Power Plants In PA [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Our Addiction To Fossil Fuels Fuel War: ‘Only Truly Addicted People Chase After Their Next Hit With Singular Focus As The Consequences Of Their Addiction Pile Up Around Them’ - By Rev. Mitchell C. Hescox, Evangelical Environmental Network [PaEN]

-- DEP Celebrates Installation Of Latest Electric Vehicle Fast Chargers To Help Reduce Vulnerability To Volatile Energy Markets, Dependence On Fossil Fuels [PaEN]

-- WHYY: Philly’s Newest Electric Vehicle Chargers Designed To Help Drivers Living In Rowhouses Go Electric

-- CourierT: How Gasoline Prices, Ukraine, PA Energy Are Shaping 2022 Election - Favoring Republicans

-- PA House Republicans Outline Agenda For Boosting PA Energy Production: Open Delaware River Watershed & State Forest Land For Drilling, Stop RGGI Carbon Reduction Program

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: PA House Republicans Call For Gas Drilling On State Lands To End Reliance On Foreign Sources [65% Of Existing Gas Leases In State Forest Land Going Unused 40% Of Gas Drilling Permits Issued By DEP Go Unused ]

-- Rep. Metcalfe: Wolf Pathetically Weak On Rejecting Russia, Traitorous Sellout Against Expanding Domestic Energy Production

-- PennLive Guest Essay: State, National Leaders Need To Get Out Of The Way Of Our Home-Grown Natural Gas Industry To Marginalize Putin’s Global Influence - Rep. Benninghoff, House Republican Leader

-- Pittsburgh Biz Journal: PA-based EQT Proposes Plan To ‘Unleash’ LNG Natural Gas By Increasing Drilling, Building 4x Pipeline/LNG Capacity, Removing Barriers To Construction [Where’s it going to go? Europe’s REpowerEU Plan calls for moving away from all natural gas.]

-- PG Guest Essay: Ukraine Crisis Time To Pivot To Renewable Energy - PennFuture

-- York Dispatch Guest Essay: Clean Energy Transition Would Break Russia’s Geopolitical Hold - Citizens Climate Lobby

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Fracked Gas In Appalachia Won’t Help Ukraine, But Will Hurt Our Communities - Anais Peterson, Earthworks

-- The Hill: Here’s Who Stands To Win From High Gasoline Prices [Spoiler - U.S. Shale Oil Producers Are #1]

-- WSJ: Why Are Gasoline Prices So High? Invasion Accelerates Rise In Already Climbing Prices

-- Bloomberg: Biden Wants U.S. Oil To Drill More, Here’s Why They’re Holding Back, U.S. Oil Production Remains Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

-- Financial Times: Oil Spike Crashes Houston’s Weeklong Energy Party At ‘Shocking Time’

-- Inquirer - Andrew Maykuth: Philly Gasoline Prices Move Up A Nickel, But Crude Oil Markets Pull Back

-- MCall: Gasoline Prices Are Spiking Across PA; Is It Price Gouging?

-- Sen. Corman, Republican Candidate For Governor, Calls For Nearly 50% Gasoline Tax Cut; Use American Rescue Plan Funds To Pay $500 Million For State Police; Float $650 Million Bond For PennDOT

-- MCall - Ford Turner: Soaring Inflation, Gasoline Prices Have PA Lawmakers Talking About Tax ‘Holidays,’ Distributing Federal Aid

-- ScrantonT Editorial: Gasoline Tax Break Merited, No Assurance Savings Will Be Passed On To Driver [Because There Is No Limit To What Oil Companies Can Charge]

-- York Dispatch Editorial: American Drives Do Have Some Reasonable Options In Battle Against Higher Gasoline Prices - Ditch The Gas-Guzzlers

-- Gov. Wolf Applauds Biden’s Ban On Russian Energy Imports, Calls On Congress To Enact Federal Gasoline Tax Holiday

-- Inquirer Editorial: Cutting Off Russian Oil Is Right Call

-- PUC Highlights 4 Electric Utilities In PA Decreasing The Cost of Their Electricity [PaEN]

-- LehighValleyLive: German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck - "The only forms of energy that don’t belong to anyone, where nobody can say, ‘It’s all mine and I’m going to blackmail you with,’ are wind and solar."

-- The Hill Guest Essay: Russia’s Attack On Ukraine A Clear Warning To U.S. To Become Energy Independent With Renewables - Admiral Dennis V. McGinn

-- MCall: Convenience Chain Sheetz Making Big Investment In Renewable Energy

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Clean Energy Best Response To Russian Invasion, Not Fossil Fuels

-- Warren Times: Sen. Corman, Candidate For Governor, Talks Oil & Gas During Warren County Campaign Stops - “I believe the energy economy is the way… to rebuild our population.” “Given what’s happening in Ukraine and our skyrocketing fuel prices, it’s important to call attention to our domestic oil producers here in Pennsylvania, like Cameron Energy.”

-- Inquirer - Andrew Maykuth: Have Philly Gasoline Prices Peaked? Are Retailers Gouging? [Think About It - There are no limits on what they can charge you.]

-- PA Cap-Star Guest Essay: Partisan Policies Didn’t Raise Gasoline Prices, And Partisan Sniping Won’t Lower Them; U.S. Oil Production Still About 12% Less Than Pre-Pandemic

-- AP: Gasoline Prices Hit Record Highs In Pennsylvania

-- ScrantonT: Businesses Struggling To Adapt To Soaring Fuel Prices

-- WHYY/AP - Susan Phillips: As Gasoline Prices Rise, Philadelphia Area Residents Rethink How They Work

-- MCall: Gasoline Prices Set Records In PA, Lehigh Valley Rising Nearly 20 Cents Over Weekend

-- WLVR: PA Farmers See Fertilizer Prices Spike And Russia’s War Could Make It Worse

-- PG - Ashley Murray & Anya Litvak: U.S. Lawmakers Say Russia-Ukraine Conflict Calls For More American Energy, But Ramp Up Could Be Complex

-- York Dispatch Editorial: Republicans Who Cannot Or Will Not Confront Praise Of A Tyrant Must Be Held Accountable By Their Constituents

National/International

-- New European Commission REPowerEU Plan Does Not Justify Dramatic Increase In Drilling, Gas Infrastructure Build Out PA Natural Gas Politicians Are Calling For [PaEN]

-- BBC: EU Unveils Plan To End Reliance On Russian Gas

-- Bloomberg: EU Maps Out Plan To Replace Russian Gas On Threat Of Cut-Off

-- Financial Times: EU Plans To Cut Russian Gas Imports By Two-Thirds In A Year

-- Bloomberg Green: Europe Is On Wartime Mission To End Its Addiction To Russian Fossil Fuel

-- Bloomberg: Europe’s Plan To Quit Russian Energy Starts Global Fight For Gas - “Rule book for energy markets has been thrown out the window.”

-- Reuters: U.S. LNG Exporters Emerge As Big Winners Of Europe Natural Gas Crisis; Price For LNG 10 Times Its Value A Year Ago

-- The Guardian: ‘This Is A Fossil Fuel War’: Ukraine’s Top Climate Scientist Speaks Out

-- Bloomberg Green: Europe Ramps Up Coal Burning With Natural Gas Out Of Favor

-- Financial Times: EU To Step Up Push For Clean Power As Ukraine Conflict Escalates, Driven By Need For Self-Sufficiency

-- Financial Times: Will The Ukraine War Derail The Green Energy Transition As Europe Scrambles To Find Alternatives To Russian Oil & Gas; Coal Could Be Winner

-- The Guardian: ‘Defining Moment’: How Can The U.S. End Its Dependency On Fossil Fuels?

-- Bloomberg: U.S. Energy Chief Calls For More Oil Output Amid ‘War Footing’ - “Right now, we need oil and gas production to rise to meet current demand.” It isn’t at odds with clean energy commitment and efforts to decarbonize. “We can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

-- Reuters: OPEC Has No Control Over Events Roiling Global Oil Markets - “There is no capacity in the world that could replace 7 million barrels [of Russian oil] per day.” [Point being no one can influence this volatile energy market now.]

-- WSJ: Shale Oil Companies Say There Are Limits To How Much, How Quickly They Can Boost Oil Supplies Due To Supply Chain Issues, Wary Investors, Shortages Of Labor, Sand, Equipment; Will Take A Good 18 Months Just To Ramp Up - “There’s only about a 10-year inventory of shale [oil] drilling locations left, maybe 15”

-- The Economist: What Oil Bosses Are Saying About The Global Energy Crisis - “The [energy markets] turbulence has just begun.”

-- Financial Times: Oil Industry Pleads With Wall Street To Stop Holding Back Investment In New Crude Supply As ‘Chaos’ And ‘Bedlam’ Threaten To Overwhelm Energy Markets

-- The Guardian: Oil And Gas Companies Are Looking At A Bonanza From The Ukraine War, Fear Of Shortages Gives Fossil Fuel Companies Leverage

-- AP: Biden Banning Russian Oil Imports, Warns Of ‘Costs’

-- White House: Remarks By Biden Announcing Russian Oil Ban - “In the Uni15ted States, 90 percent of onshore oil production takes place on land that isn’t owned by the federal government. And of the remaining 10 percent that occurs on federal land, the oil and gas industry has millions of acres leased. They have 9,000 permits to drill now. They could be drilling right now, yesterday, last week, last year. They have 9,000 to drill onshore that are already approved.” [40% of unconventional gas drilling permits issued by DEP in Pennsylvania haven’t been used.]

-- AP: Explainer: What Does A U.S. Ban On Russian Oil Accomplish?

-- Financial Times: What Does Banning Russian Oil Mean For Global Energy Markets?

-- Financial Times: Biden Administration Ratchets Up Pressure On U.S. Shale Producers To Increase Supply To Tame Oil Prices

-- Reuters: OPEC Meets With U.S. Shale Executives As Oil Prices Skyrocket

--The Guardian: Russia Threatens To Cut Natural Gas To Europe Via Nord Stream 1 Pipeline In Response To Oil Ban

-- Financial Times: European Natural Gas Prices Rise As Markets Face Historic ‘Energy Supply Shock’

-- Financial Times: Curbs On Russian Exports Raise Risk Of Oil Shock And Recession In Europe [Those without electric or hybrid vehicles get ready.]

-- Financial Times: International Energy Agency Ready To Release More Oil To Ease Soaring Energy Prices, Says Chief

-- The Atlantic: America Is The World’s Largest Oil Producer, So Why Is Losing Russia’s Oil Such A Big Deal? "...under the U.S. oil industry as it exists today, there is no way to spin up new oil production in a few weeks or months. But more important, it means that U.S. oil companies have developed the opposite of independence.

“Since Congress lifted the ban on oil exports in 2015, all American-drilled oil and some of our natural gas have been priced on the international market. Global market forces, not our abundance of domestic fossil fuels, set the price of oil and gasoline in the United States."

"Market dynamics, not overzealous regulations, have imprisoned the industry. That hasn’t stopped lobbyists from pretending otherwise.”

“Energy independence was not an awful goal. But true independence cannot be achieved by the market alone.

“The U.S. ensures that its food supply, timberlands, and water quality are not administered solely by the market.

“That same philosophy can apply to two of its most important natural resources: its fossil fuels and its climate.

“The first goal can be achieved through more aggressive management of the industry; the second, by a phaseout of fossil fuels altogether.

“Only through such stewardship can the United States secure the true dividends of prosperity and freedom.”

-- The Hill: Banning Russian Oil Would Hit U.S. Prices Hard

-- Reuters: What Would A U.S. Ban On Russian Oil Mean For The World?

-- WSJ: Oil Companies Contemplate World Without Russian Crude

-- WPost: Calls For U.S. Ban On Russian Oil Gain Momentum Despite Inflation Concerns

-- Reuters: Brent Crude Oil Spikes To $139 On Prospect Of Russia Oil Ban

-- Financial Times: Why Oil Prices Might Still Climb Higher [In 2008 Putin’s Invasion Into Georgia Caused Oil To Hit All-Time High Of $150 - Anyone See A Pattern?]

-- Reuters: U.S. LNG Exporters Emerge As Big Winners Of Europe Natural Gas Crisis; Price For LNG 10 Times Its Value A Year Ago

-- Reuters: U.S. Push To Export LNG Amid Ukraine Crisis Slowed By Climate Concerns, Sources Say

-- Bloomberg: Hackers Targeted U.S. LNG Producers In Run-Up To Ukraine War

-- WSJ: Germany Goes Ahead With First LNG Terminal To Cut Dependence On Russian Natural Gas

-- Bloomberg Green: Credit Suisse Investors Push Bank To Cut Fossil-Fuel Financing

-- Bloomberg: Solar Firms Jump As U.S. And U.K. Move To Ban Russia Oil Imports

-- Bloomberg Green: Methane Cloud Spotted In Texas Shale Basin Near Energy Transfer Natural Gas Pipelines [a.k.a Sunoco, Revolution, Mariner East Pipelines In PA]

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Leak Spurs Evacuation At One Of The Biggest Oil Fields In Alaska

-- NYT: As War Rages, A Struggle To Balance Energy Crunch And Climate Crisis

-- USA Today: U.S. Officials Put Americans On Alert For Russian Cyberattacks As Ukraine War Grows, Especially On U.S. Infrastructure

-- 2 Republican Senators Layout Agenda For Deregulating Oil & Gas Industry, Power Plants In PA

-- New European Commission REPowerEU Plan Does Not Justify Dramatic Increase In Drilling, Gas Infrastructure Build Out PA Natural Gas Politicians Are Calling For [PaEN]