GCEF keynoter: America’s future will be forged by steel, not government
The Gulf Coast Energy Forum’s keynote speaker Chuck Schmitt hit a familiar note within the energy industry as attendees finished lunch: the sector is a well-oiled machine calibrated for innovation, and government rules and regulations are drags not only on oil and gas production, but on the nation’s economy as a whole. Schmitt – president of the American branch of Nordic steel producers SSAB and chairman of the American Iron & Steel Institute – told a crowd of around 50 industry interests that federal regulations designed to protect the environment are misguided, if well-intentioned. (“Wishes and good intentions don’t keep the lights on,” quipped Consumer Energy Alliance rep Brydon Ross following the keynote.) Among “the brilliant ideas that come down from Washington” in Schmitt’s parlance is the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, a bugaboo decried by almost every speaker at energy industry conference. “The rules, in my view, give foreign manufacturers a competitive advantage by increasing U.S. electricity costs,” said Schmitt. “We’re concerned with the EPA’s proposed ozone standard could shut down facilities and force manufacturers like ours to cancel expansion plans.” “Even the EPA itself said that its ozone regulation alone could be the most expensive regulation in American history.” Forcing industry to comply with byzantine federal laws, said Schmitt, interferes with the self-interested sustainability practices that occur naturally in an industry that aims to be at the center of American life for generations and is not inherently short-sighted as regulators presume. Steel – the most recycled material in the world – is especially sustainable because it is 98 percent recyclable, Schmitt said. Instead of tweaking domestic energy producers, the government ought to focus on staying competitive with growing emerging markets. “Congress and the [Obama] administration should craft a national energy policy that promotes the development of all domestic energy sources,” said Schmitt. “One of the consequences of international energy competition is includes the net environmental impact that results when advanced domestic industries like ours are displaced by less efficient, less responsible plants.” Schmitt concluded by highlighting his interest group’s ongoing advocacy efforts. “During the most recent congressional district work period, AISI activated our grassroots networks,” Schmitt said, referring to the recess which began this month. “Steelworkers across the country asked their members of Congress to oppose EPA’s plans to unilaterally regulate greenhouse gas emissions for existing and new power plants.” Schmitt was hopeful Congress would listen, and the crowd listening to him in turn gave a collective nod.
Energy panelists say traditional energy sources will remain front and center
A panel of energy industry experts speaking to attendees at the 2015 Gulf Coast Energy Forum in Tampa said that while a lot of buzz has been generated about alternatives to oil and gas, fossil fuels will remain the indispensable core the world’s energy portfolio for decades, if not longer. Patrick Sullivan from the Mississippi Energy Institute employed a line from his state’s former Gov. Haley Barbour when it comes to both increasing the size of alternative fuels and especially federal mandates to do so. “Before I jump in the back seat with ’em, let’s listen to a few more songs on the radio,” said Sullivan, adding he may have even heard enough. “The fact is that coal and oil are going to remain a major part of the energy portfolio globally, with or without the U.S,” Sullivan continued. “If you just look at where the deposits are in the world, and where the underserved populations are, they’re in places like India and China. And they are investing heavily in these traditional sources of energy. All three panelists who took part in a panel entitled “Unleashing Gulf Energy” echoed the sentiment. Shell oceanographer Dr. Ruth Mullins Perry said government projections show that 9 billion barrels are currently available in the Gulf of Mexico, and that there’s enough untapped oil in the Atlantic to power Florida for 17 consecutive years without buying petroleum from other sources. Allaying concerns that more drilling means more spills, Perry said in the years since the 2011 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe a rigorous “culture of safety” has emerged at her company and others. “If you’re caught texting your driving or if you fall from the stairs and you weren’t using the handrails, you will be fired,” said Perry. “That’s the level of commitment to safety we’ve taken on.” All three panelists also emphasized their reservations about the EPA’s looming Clean Power Plan. “Or as I call it, the ‘Make Electricity More Expensive Plan,” quipped Sullivan. The panel decried what they described as an EPA overreach that, along with the new ‘Waters of the U.S.’ rule – as GCEF partners at the James Madison Institute recently found in a study – vastly increases governmental power over relatively ecologically inert surface water. To him, the question of alternative energy vs. traditional sources was as simple as this: “Ask the consumer; do you want $4 gas or $2.20 gas?” The above disparity can make the difference, said Sullivan, between a worker who earns $50,000 spending 16 percent of their take-home pay on gasoline vs. 9 percent. That gap is something consumers of all persuasions can appreciate, he added. What can advocates of doubling down on traditional sources rather than on alternative energy half-measures? Showing up, said Brent Greenwood of HBW Resources. Particularly at “public comment periods [on regulatory rule-making processes], offshore leasing plans and of course, attending events like the GCEF,” said Greenwood.
