WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) — With the first debate coming this week, the American Petroleum Institute said it wants to hear how presidential candidates will navigate the era of abundance.
Fox News announced a roster of 10 candidates vying for the Republican nomination for president for this week’s debate. Real estate mogul Donald Trump is leading in public opinion surveys alongside former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the interests of the oil and gas sector, said it wants to hear how each candidate, including Democrats, plans to steer the United States as it takes a global leadership position in terms of oil and natural gas production.
API President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Gerard said the next U.S. president will oversee issues ranging from oil and gas exports to the emissions reductions scheme outlined this week from the White House.
“We can pursue an American future of energy abundance, self-determination and global leadership or take a step back to an era of scarcity, dependence and uncertainty,” he said. “We’re calling on candidates — Republican and Democrat alike — to share with voters their vision for harnessing this American energy moment.”
A Senate energy committee last week passed a measure that would end a 1970s-era ban on domestic crude oil exports. Senate leaders and those in the U.S. energy sector focused on production say removing the ban would boost economic strength at home while advancing U.S. national security interests overseas. Those on the refining side, however, say erasing the ban would force them to import more oil from foreign sources.
“We cannot afford for our next president to be blinded to the opportunities in front of us by a stale mindset of ’70s-era scarcity,” Gerard said.
On gas, more exports in the form of liquefied natural gas could contain the economic interests of U.S. adversaries like Russia, supporters say. Detractors argue more gas exports would lead to an increase in hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling practice known also as fracking.
