January 5th, 2024

• Stay up to date on all things energy by visiting the TEA Newsroom.
• Natural Gas CARES: It is the world’s Cleanest, Affordable, Reliable Energy Source.
• The U.S. oil and gas industry continues to innovate in 2023.
• How electric vehicles are losing momentum.
• The Pacific Northwest could experience “energy droughts,” study finds.
• Energy cases to watch in 2024.
• Appeals court delivers fatal blow to Berkeley gas ban attempt.
• EPA gives Louisiana authority to store carbon dioxide underground.

The issue: The U.S. domestic oil industry closed a remarkably strong year in 2023. Just imagine how much more robust it may have been if not for the actions of the current administration.

Why it matters: American and Canadian oil and gas production has helped buffer Europe from western sanctions against Russia. Clean, affordable and reliable energy is essential to our livelihood and the well-being of everyone, as noted in TEA’s Common Sense Energy Agenda.

This is great news, as we are producing more oil than any country in history.

The White House has been forced to shift its tone on fossil fuels from the climate-focused stance of 2020 and early 2021 to something more neutral as we enter 2024.

But we remain skeptical in this election year. We predict President Biden will campaign as a moderate on energy policy, saying what he thinks voters focused on affordable energy want to hear. But he’ll return to his green-at-any-cost roots, if re-elected, knowing that in a lame-duck second term he won’t face any consequences for his actions.

His likely Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, has disparate views on energy. He wants to drill more and expand natural gas and oil production in the U.S. The industry needs a friend in the White House following four years of one that has fought it every step of the way with its radical green agenda.

Consider:

• By the end of 2023, the United States and Canada were expected to have produced more oil and gas than any other region in the world.
• The two nations are on track to produce more than 41 million barrels of oil and gas per day; the Middle East produces about 38 million barrels.
• Since 2008, when U.S. gas and oil hit a 62-year low, production has almost doubled for both commodities.
• As a whole, the U.S. produced unprecedented amounts of oil last year, with October producing 13.2 million barrels per day, just slightly lower than the record-setting amount produced a month earlier.

States like North Dakota reported a great year. Other states like Alaska are opening up for drilling. All of this means more production, better paying American jobs and lower consumer prices. U.S. energy production is a stabilizing force for consumers here and around the world. Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Alaska and West Virginia are the top natural gas producing states, based on 2022 data.

Bottom Line: The more natural gas and oil we produce, the less reliant we are on hostile regimes. It’s a good thing we set domestic production records in 2023, but we need to do more to end imports of foreign energy.

The issue: There is yet another crackdown on home appliances by the Biden administration as the new year begins. Can we really afford four more years of this administration’s war on domestic energy? We think not.

Why it matters: The Department of Energy (DOE) both finalized new energy efficiency standards for residential refrigerators and freezers, and proposed standards for commercial fans and blowers. The DOE has pledged to continue moving forward with more such regulations in 2024, meaning that if Biden is re-elected American consumers can expect more of the same intrusive policies and to pay more for everyday goods and services. We need a president that isn’t overseeing a department that is continually dictating energy choices for our homes and businesses.

Consider:

• The standards targeting fans and blowers are the first-ever federal regulations targeting those appliances.
• The upfront costs usually are not made up in savings, even over a period of time, consumer groups contend.
• Some contend that the new efficiency standards may harm product performance; for example, taking longer for dishwashers to complete their cycle.

Last fall a consumer group exposed the costs of the Biden administration’s war on home appliances.

The Alliance For Consumers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting consumer protection policies, issued the analysis showing that popular appliances like ceiling fans, gas stoves, dishwashers, water heaters and refrigerators will increase in price in the coming years thanks in large part to a federal energy efficiency regulatory regime. The group labeled its analysis “Biden’s Dream House” in reference to the impact of regulations on household expenses.

According to the analysis, recent energy regulations proposed or finalized by the Biden administration would, on average, make water heaters cost $2,800 more, gas stoves as much as $3,250 more expensive, air conditioners $1,100 more expensive and gas furnaces cost $500 more.

Bottom Line: American consumers are more informed than ever. Let them choose their household and business appliances at their discretion, without burdensome and costly federal mandates.

Talk about kicking the new year off on the right foot. For the past few weeks, gas prices have fallen to their lowest levels since early 2021. As of today, the national average for a gallon of gasoline is $3.09. That’s down from an average of $3.23 just one month ago. As President Biden tries to take credit for this price drop, our friends at the U.S. O&G Association reminded him who Americans have to thank for the savings at the pump.

Hearing On “Clean American Energy Production”: On Wednesday, January 10, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials will have a hearing called “Protecting Clean American Energy Production and Jobs by Stopping EPA’s Overreach.”

Hearing On Forced Labor In China: On Thursday, January 11, the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability will have a hearing called “Exploitation and Enforcement Part II: Improving Enforcement in Countering Uyghur Forced Labor.”