U.S. energy policy

Over 70 percent of current U.S. oil needs are met in North and South America alone, with Canada as our largest oil supplier (12 percent in 2009) and Mexico providing substantial supplies as well (6 percent in 2009).  African nations also provide well over 10 percent of our needs.

• According to preliminary data from the Energy Information Administration, United States' supplies accounted for approximately 42 percent of the oil it consumed in 2009.

Given the critical need to foster economic recovery in the United States, and the goal of increasing energy security, policymakers should support measures to expand domestic energy development.  Many of the best opportunities for developing additional domestic oil and gas supplies remain off-limits due to government policies. 

• Although a longstanding ban on leasing portions of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) was lifted by Congress in 2008, a new five-year leasing plan for potentially developing over a third of these resources -- from 2012 through 2017 -- was only recently proposed by the administration.
• According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), federal lands, including those on the OCS, hold an estimated 116 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 650 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas — enough to fuel over 65 million cars for 60 years and meet the natural gas needs of 60 million households for 160 years.  However, there could be much more oil and natural gas than has been estimated in areas where industry has not been permitted to explore, and where new technologies allow enhanced recovery of resources.

• Opportunity for Economic and Jobs Growth:  A recent study by ICF International estimated that the development of oil and natural gas on federal lands (including OCS) previously or currently closed could increase domestic oil production by as much as 2 million barrels per day, and natural gas production by over 5 billion cubic feet per day.  Over the next 20 years such activity could create as many as 160,000 new jobs. 
• The ICF International study also estimated that domestic oil and natural gas development could generate approximately $1.7 trillion in federal, state and local government revenues to fund critical governmental priorities. 
• Importance of the Oil and Gas Industry to the American Economy:  A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the U.S. oil and gas industry in 2007: (1) added over $1 trillion to the American economy (7.5 percent of gross domestic product); and (2) supported more than 9 million full- and part-time jobs in the United States.