The U.S. Oil and Gas Industry Is Not Dead or Even Close to It

June 17, 2020

Oil prices have been on the rebound in recent weeks following a turbulent spring for the market. Prices are now about $35-per-barrel which is still below the break-even price for most producers but is a sign that prices are stabilizing.

This should come as welcome news to every citizen, as the industry is a vital part of the American economy and supported nearly 10 million jobs nationally at the end of 2019, according to the American Petroleum Institute.

Yet, the eco-left and their never-ending war on fossil fuels continues as they declare the industry dead or advocate for willful eradication.

In a recent InsideSource article, they discuss Sarah Raskin’s, former member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, op-ed in the New York Times that stated any effort to help the industry’s workers and smaller operators through stimulus programs would be a bad investment for taxpayers.

This is irresponsible and extremely short-sighted coming from someone trusted with such power. First of all, these stimulus programs aren’t intended to be “investments” in the future of the fossil fuels sector, or renewables or any other industry for that matter; they’re supposed to help real people, most of whom come from modest backgrounds.

I know a number of them personally, the hardworking drillers, rig workers and derrick hands, and I can tell you their families have suffered real pain throughout this economic crisis.

But what also bothers me is the pundits misappropriating economic reasoning to prop up what I suspect is little more than mindless virtue signaling.

The progressive left continues to push radical policies to promote their political agenda at the expense of American jobs and security. The misguided and ill-informed stance of an energy future without fossil fuels following this pandemic does not address the concerns of eliminating an entire prosperous industry from our economy that supports 10 million jobs nationally, or the ability to be energy independent without the reliability of traditional energy resources.