This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will consider HR 1121, the Protecting American Energy Production Act, introduced by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), which would prohibit an administrative ban on hydraulic fracturing unless authorized by Congress. While some may consider the preemptive legislation unnecessary, the Biden administration’s recent pause on liquefied natural gas export permits is a stark reminder that energy policy too often gets caught up in political winds.
The United States is blessed with tremendous domestic energy sources that, if used, can protect us from suffering a similar energy-reliance disaster that many European countries experienced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition to renewable energy sources, the U.S. boasts multiple basins with significant oil and natural gas reserves. As long as we continue to allow people to access these resources, we will never face such a dilemma.
Producing energy resources is a necessity. The truth is that the U.S. and the world will need a lot more oil and gas in the coming decades, even as new forms of energy come online. In fact, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that the worldwide demand for all forms of energy will increase by 50% by 2050. The only way to meet this increase in demand without sacrificing the environmental progress made over the past 25 years is through a wholehearted commitment to developing energy resources in the U.S. HR 1121 guarantees this access and ensures that the rights to domestic resource development are kept from being interrupted or administratively slowed down.
One of the development processes this bill would protect is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking for short. This technology originated in the 1940s and is currently used on 95% of new oil and gas wells today. There is a reason fracking is used so widely in oil and gas production. When paired with directional drilling, it is the safest and most effective way of accessing hydrocarbons in tight shale formations deep beneath the surface.
This technology is already responsible for the steep increase in natural gas production we’ve experienced in the U.S. over the last 25 years. A ban on hydraulic fracturing would put an end to the abundance of natural gas that has both improved the environment and aided our allies. In essence, a ban on fracking would be a ban on U.S. oil and gas and would turn our energy security over to other nations that, undoubtedly, do not have Americans’ best interests at heart.
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Unfortunately, the debate over hydraulic fracturing has become politically weaponized, with four states prohibiting the process within their borders and President Joe Biden making several statements before taking office that suggested he would consider banning it altogether. Fortunately, the administration has not taken that catastrophic action. Still, continued statements from administration officials against fracking make it clear they have not given up on that campaign promise.
Let us be clear about what is at stake here. With 95% of new onshore wells in the U.S. requiring hydraulic fracturing, a moratorium or ban would shut down any new production in the U.S. That means dramatically higher gas prices, no new investment, job losses, and the loss of U.S. energy security and the environmental gains the U.S. has made. Congress must act as the American energy industry continues to fall under attack.
Tim Tarpley is president of the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, the national trade association for the global energy technology and services sector, representing more than 665,000 U.S. jobs in the technology-driven energy value chain.
