Natural Gas Has Brought U.S. Energy Security
National Energy Security was a recurring theme at the PA Upstream 2020 conference held in State College in October. Not only did presenters and panel members agree that Pennsylvania is headed in the right direction toward reducing America’s dependency on foreign fuels, recent legislation will support the production of needed petrochemicals and gas synthesis from the abundant feed stock provided by the Marcellus Shale.
Though the pandemic is not yet over, we are already assessing its effects on manufacturing and energy production. While Pennsylvania has become a net exporter of energy, we continue to import fertilizers for our farmers and personal protection equipment (PPE) for front-line workers that we should be making ourselves.
“Seventy-five percent of items used in the fight against COVID come from chemicals,” Tom Gellrich, CEO of TopLine Analytics told those in attendance. “Chemicals are part of manufacturing and innovation. It’s a growth industry and allows us to import less and help the environment.”
“More than a third of the people in the world would not eat if it wasn’t for urea, which is made from captured methane,” added Perry Babb, CEO of KeyState Natural Gas Synthesis, LLC, the first company to take advantage of PA’s Act 66 with planned construction of a gas synthesis plant in Clinton County. “It’s made possible by producing natural gas.”
Steve Winberg, assistant secretary of energy for Fossil Energy for the federal government, credited the natural gas industry for profound and positive geopolitical implications as we export LNG to Europe and Asia. “Unconventional natural gas and oil allowed the president to get on the phone with OPEC and convince them not to open up their valves at the beginning of the pandemic,” Steve maintained. “He carries a bigger stick because of the work that all of you are doing.”
Production of more petroleum-based products right here in Pennsylvania is great news, of course, and will jump start our economic recovery. But the raw resource that will bring all of these exciting plans to fruition is the dry gas that will also be used to fuel these new plants and gas-fired generation of electricity for homes and businesses.
“People have enough to worry about, and access to affordable energy should not be one of them,” Matt Henderson, moderator for the Upstream conference, stated. “Every conversation counts. We need to be that advocate and personalize it.”
“At the end of the day, we need energy,” PA House Majority Leader Rep. Kerry Benninghoff asserted. “I don’t believe that God would have given us these resources if he didn’t want us to develop them. No energy means no commerce. No commerce means no jobs.”