Author: GTD Group (Page 2 of 23)

Many thanks to all the readers of my column for your continued support and encouragement!!

I especially want to thank Western Oklahoma and Elk City, Ok. followers of the Facebook Page: America Needs America’s Energy. Of the over 11,000 followers as of this writing, Western Oklahoma/Elk City stand at number 3 in most supporters. The top ten cities by the number of followers are: 1. Oklahoma City, 2. Edmond, 3. Western Oklahoma/Elk City, 4. Chicago, 5. Atlanta, 6. New York City, 7. Los Angeles, 8. Memphis, 9. Miami, Fl., 10. Phoenix.

As Elk City and Western Oklahoma citizens are very aware of, the oil and gas industry is boosting the economy by providing jobs. The energy industry is an important economic driver for this Nation and that message needs to be told across the country as we “Create Together the People’s Energy Plan”.

For the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, i.e. oil and gas extraction/drilling development, employment increased by over 60 percent or nearly 194,000 jobs during 2001 to 2011. The upstream energy sector makes up approximately one-fourth of the total oil and gas related employment.

What has contributed to the increase in employment? Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have served in great measure to the increase in employment.

Employment in 2012 nationwide, for example, showed a differing trend between the upstream and the US economy. Upstream employment continued to increase, averaging 24 percent higher compared with the 2008 US economic impact.

Upstream employment has increased over two times in many states with the largest increase in North Dakota and Pennsylvania. With the activity in the Bakkan trend, North Dakota went from 1,500 jobs in 2001 to close to 10,000 jobs in 2011. In Pennsylvania, upstream employment jumped from 3,500 jobs in 2001 to over 17,500 jobs in 2011.

During the 2001 to 2011 timeframe, upstream employment results were: Oklahoma adding 22,600 jobs, Colorado adding 14,900 jobs, Wyoming adding 6,400 jobs and New Mexico adding 5,400 jobs.

The overall oil and gas onshore industry sector efforts resulted in US GDP of $321 billion in 2010. It is estimated that federal, state taxes, royalty payments, leases bonuses and other payments totaled $69 billion in 2010. The Oklahoma energy industry has accounted for over 50 billion dollars of Oklahoma’s State Product.

The Oklahoma energy workforce has provided over the last several years, nearly $1 billion in annual gross production taxes alone.
By 2015, IHS CERA forecasts that shale and other unconventional resources will be responsible for 2.5 million jobs, increasing to 3 million by 2020.

Bottom-line, U. S. Energy Independence Means Jobs, Security and Economic Development.
America Needs America’s Energy!

Please let me know what you think, go to www.peopleseenergyplan.com

Facebook: America Needs America’s Energy, with 11000 supporters and counting. — America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan!

The pressure is mounting for US oil and gas companies. The oil and gas industry is creating jobs, and boosting the economy but is being faced with outside forces willing to shut-down the entire oil and gas sector.

As I have stated time and again, America Needs America’s Energy and the US must have the goal of energy efficiency and environmental preservation. There must be a balance between energy development and environmental preservation.

General Electric has committed $125 million to the building of GE’S Global Research Oil and Gas Technology Center. This center will commit to introducing innovations, improving the environment through research and enhancing oil and gas development through technological advancement.

The oil and gas industry with the support of companies like GE are providing a more secure energy future. Both are leading the efforts for energy and environmental stability and strong economic development.

General Electric sees the importance of the oil and gas industry to America’s Energy Future! GE will be working closely with oil and gas companies and universities.

Another challenge facing the US energy industry is the present Administration’s efforts to slow down the US coal industry. OG&E, for example, has announced that it plans to convert two of its three plants from coal to natural gas.

It doesn’t look like the US coal industry is going away any time soon even though the Environmental Protection Agency recently introduced the plan of cutting emissions from coal/power plants 30% by 2030. The coal industry continues to raise money for investments in the US and abroad.

Unnecessary regulations and legislation will only slow down a much needed energy sector. Coal seems to be the main target. However, natural gas will also be targeted.

This past January, a warning went out that it was important that reduction of electric usage was needed in Texas. The risk of power outages was strongly possible. According to an article by award-winning journalist Loren Steffy, “in January, power plants unexpectedly went offline when the State of Texas needed them most. This time blackouts were averted, but barely”. He goes on to state, “as the threat of rolling blackouts in winter and summer demonstrates, Texas isn’t producing enough electricity to meet our needs”.

A strong energy industry means more jobs, and a more secure economy. A balance between energy and the environment is needed. The US energy industry is leading that effort in a positive way.

The US needs to become less dependent on foreign oil, protect the environment, and strive for energy efficiency.

It is time we come together. It is very important that the US be in a strong position of securing energy reserves within its own boundaries.

Please let me know what you think, go to www.peoplesenergyplan.com
Facebook: America Needs America’s Energy, with 11,000 supporters plus and growing. — America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan!

Today, July 4th, we celebrate America’s Independence! The oil and gas industry is working toward being less dependent on foreign oil.

As Chairman of People to People International (PTPI), www.ptpi.org, from 2009 to 2013 and as Acting CEO last summer, I had the honor of working with Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter of former US President Dwight Eisenhower and CEO/President of PTPI. Mary shared her views and vision about US energy in a letter addressed to the 20th Annual International Energy Policy Conference in 2012:

“Energy is more than an ‘American issue.’ Energy is a global issue, as we are all interconnected. It is the topic at hand, whether we are discussing the future of America’s energy needs, or following the United Nations Human Development Index, which many of you know relates quality of life with access to energy. As James Conca shared in Forbes, ‘The world will not be rid of poverty, war, or terrorism until almost everyone on Earth is in the middle class. And that requires energy.’ We are all in this together!

Conca further stated, ‘That energy use is one of the most accurate indicators of what is considered prosperity and happiness is a powerful concept. Even more important to national security is that energy use trends with life span, peace, and democracy.’ Conca’s view is that it is ‘unethical and unjust, as well not in our national security interests, not to ensure that the rest of humanity achieves prosperity and long life.’

As we explore the future of energy, I hope that you will remember that point: we are all interconnected. When my grandfather, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, gave his famous, ‘Atoms for Peace’ speech in 1953, the topic was atomic warfare. He said, ‘Occasional pages of history do record the faces of the ‘great destroyers’, but the whole book of history reveals mankind’s never-ending quest for peace and mankind’s God-given capacity to build. It is with the book of history, and not with isolated pages, that the United States will ever wish to be identified. My country wants to be constructive, not destructive. It wants agreements, not wars, among nations. It wants itself to live in freedom and in the confidence that the peoples of every other nation enjoy equally the right of choosing their own way of life.’ So whether we are facing the specter of atomic warfare in the 1950s or the future of natural gas today, it is you, the innovators and the visionaries, who will ensure a brighter future for all.

In my role as People to People International’s President and Chief Executive Officer, I have the great pleasure of working to connect people of all countries and cultures. Granddad believed that ‘peaceful relations between nations require understanding and mutual respect between individuals.’ It takes each of us, working together, to combat misperceptions, and it will take each of us, working together, to address the issues of energy in America and beyond. We owe it to ourselves and to each other to address these needs in terms beyond today. The future won’t wait!”

Please let me know what you think, go to www.peoplesenergyplan.com

Facebook: America Needs America’s Energy, with 11,000 supporters plus and growing. — America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan!

I recently entered the Oklahoma Department of Commerce building to attend a Governor’s International Team meeting and noticed a poster that was in the entry. The first words at the top of the poster grabbed my attention: oil, natural gas, wind, and unconventional resources. I stopped to read further.

There was a lot of information on the poster. Most of the statistics I was aware of but the poster properly highlighted Oklahoma as an American leader:

Oklahoma is the 4th-largest producer of natural gas in the US, it has the largest number of CNG filling stations in the US per capita, natural gas accounts for more than 80% of the energy produced in the State.

The State is the 5th-largest producer of crude oil in the US, it has five refineries, producing 3% of the total US refined oil capacity (500,000 barrels per day), it is eighth in the US in terms of total energy production, and it has the largest oil storage facility in the world.

Oklahoma’s geothermal industry employs 4200 Oklahomans. The State is home to the International Ground Heat Pump Association.

Oklahoma is fifth for total new capacity, 8th for existing capacity, and 7th in net electricity generation from wind.

I went through my files at the office and found other information about Oklahoma’s impact on the economy.

In an Oklahoma Energy Resources Board report, as an example, in 2011 alone “nearly $1 billion in direct gross production tax payments, including $504 million in oil gross production taxes and another $459 million in natural gas gross tax payments, $2.35 billion in federal personal income tax payments, $700 million in state personal income tax payments, $563 million in state sales tax payments, and $503 million in local sales tax payments”.

“Direct output from the industry is estimated to be just more than $35 billion ($30 billion from the production side and $5 billion in drilling). In order to generate $35 billion in output, the industry purchases inputs from supporting industries, employs more than 83,000 workers and pays more the $9.4 billion in labor income.”

America, and for that matter, Oklahoma, is and needs to take the lead in energy leadership for us to achieve energy security. Throughout the speeches I make around the country, I state my belief that America should be the center for energy excellence because the world needs our expertise. We cannot afford to continue to rely on foreign nations that don’t consider us friends to fulfill our energy needs or miss the opportunity to create a forward-thinking infrastructure that will support the American way of life.

Go to www.peoplesenergyplan.com to join the effort.

Facebook: America Needs America’s Energy with over 10,700 supporters plus and growing. — America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan!

On the front cover of the May 22, 2014 Wall Street Journal the caption reads “Leaders of China and Russia Drink to Momentous Gas Deal” with a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin toasting.

As I mentioned in a column a few weeks ago, Russia has an abundance of oil and natural gas reserves. China needs those reserves.

Russia is flexing its muscles. It appears that it is working towards world dominance in energy.

However, it should not be ignored as to where the final deal was signed. It was signed in Shanghai, China. Through this deal, China is sending a message to the West that it is the real power in its view.

Even with the sanctions in place from the US against Russia, Russia continues to team up with China, marching onward with their Plan(s).

In the meantime, what is Our Plan? More legislation, more regulation?

As I have stated, “future generations are depending on us to keep the American dream alive.”

“For too long we in America have been wasting time blaming the energy industry or the government for failure to adopt a national energy strategy when we should be responsible for creating the plan. As consumers of energy, we must drive the process, evaluating how we can best leverage our natural resources here at home to ensure long-term energy sustainability and security. “

“American citizens must take individual responsibility for the state of this great nation, striving to protect the land we call home. Our national security has long been one of the assets we cherish, and we cannot afford to continue relying on foreign nations to fulfill our energy needs or miss this opportunity to create a forward-thinking infrastructure that will support the American way of life.”

Therefore, the US has the immediate challenge of striving for the creation of the People’s Energy Plan! The message is clear: America Needs America’s Energy! Together we can create the People’s Energy Plan!

Men and women serving in the US military have greatly sacrificed over the years so that we could have energy to drive our cars, watch television, listen to the radio, and provide us energy security. Today, men and women serving our country are sacrificing for our energy needs, even though we have not had a strategic energy plan in place for sixty years.

It is extremely important that the US be in a strong position of securing energy reserves within it own boundaries. The US must build stronger relationships with its neighbors and its allies as well. We need an aggressive plan. Russia and China definitely have plans in action. The US needs energy security. America Needs America’s Energy! It’s Time to Act!

Go to www.peoplesenergyplan.com to join the effort.

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Marianne Horinko, President of the Horinko Group, Washington, DC and former Acting Administrator of the EPA, and I will be co-hosting the 22nd Annual International Energy Policy (IEPC) Conference event on Thursday, November 13th, 2014 in Washington, DC.

The conference was founded in 1992. I founded and continue to chair the annual event. The purpose of the conference is to bring stakeholders together from not only the energy sector but also concerned citizens, representatives from government, agriculture, education, environment, business, students and others.

Issues that will be addressed include: hydraulic fracturing, federal legislation, water preservation, endangered species, and federal regulations.

Marianne Horinko and I made presentations on the subject of “Energy, Environment and Politics” in late 2012. The presentations were the kick-off of the Mentoring Environment and Energy Together (MEET) Mentor-Protégé Program held at Devon Energy’s headquarters in Oklahoma City. Participants also visited a Devon Energy drilling and hydraulic fracturing well site.

This effort builds on The Horinko Group’s release of its comprehensive white paper on the current and future environmental, regulatory, and legal issues tied to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing and upon my book, “America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan”.

IEPC has had several honorary conference chairs including former UN Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick who served three times, US Senator Don Nickles, and US Ambassador Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan.

The conference has been hosted by various sponsors, corporations and organizations since its founding including The Oklahoma Royalty Company, The Energy Advocates, the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, the US Department of Energy, Sarkeys Energy Center at the University of Oklahoma, People to People International, and the American Gas Association.
The involvement of these organizations has contributed to the conference’s success.

Past conferences have been held in Washington, DC, Tulsa, Denver, Dallas, Houston and Oklahoma City.

The theme of the first conference and continues to be at the forefront of the conference each year is “Striving for Energy Efficiency and Environmental Preservation”.

This year’s event will focus on 1) prioritizing energy usage, 2) establishing guidelines for environmental preservation, 3) achieving energy efficiency both residentially and businesses, 4) developing and maintaining energy infrastructure and 5) creating a working energy sustainability plan(s) and goal(s).

For information about attending the conference, please contact me at mark@thegtdgroup.com.

The message is clear: America Needs America’s Energy! Together we can Create the People’s Energy Plan! “Striving for Energy Efficiency and Environmental Preservation” can be achieved. Go to www.peoplesenergyplan.com to join the effort.

Facebook: America Needs America’s Energy with over 10,600 supporters plus and growing. — America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan!

“Business Opportunities in Mexico’s Energy Sector” is the topic of the 1st Mexico Energy and Business Forum. It will be presented by Mexico Energy and Business Magazine and held in Dallas, Texas on July 2nd, 2014. My company is one of the hosts of the event.

I continue the message that “America Needs America’s Energy”. I have also advocated that the US needs a secure neighbor in Mexico.

The forum is designed to discover the latest developments in Mexico’s energy sector. The panels of US and Mexico experts will provide information on business opportunities, research, findings and highlight the major breakthroughs as well as challenges facing this sector today.

The program will include the following subjects: why invest in Mexico today, the energy forum is a legislative panorama- update on the secondary laws drafted by Mexico’s Congress that will dictate contract logistics, welcoming the private sector to the energy industry- types of contracts to be award by the National Hydrocarbon Commission to Pemex and private entities, as well as roles the electricity sector and other energy industries will play, and doing business in the energy sector in Mexico- the energy reform approved by Mexico’s Congress has sparked optimism and confidence among investors, despite expected challenges, the overall sentiment is that the economy will improve significantly in the coming years.

Speakers as of this writing include the chief executive for the Mexico Federal Electricity Commission, the president of the energy commission in the Senate, Pemex executives, commissioner for the Mexico Energy Regulatory Commission and the minister of the energy commission/Mexico Congress.

As I have mentioned in past columns, several years ago, I had the opportunity of serving on an advisory committee appointed by the Mexico Trade Commissioner who was based in the Dallas, Texas regional office. The advisory committee’s focus was trade and tourism between Mexico and the US.

One issue that was addressed was US and Mexico relations. Since 1938, Mexico has been under strict governmental guidelines with no privatization in place. In August of 2013, the President of Mexico proposed a plan to open its oil and gas sector to foreign investments through private-public partnerships. With US technology and expertise, Mexico and North America could potentially benefit in a very positive way. A more secure Mexico means much to the America’s security.

The forum will provide Mexican lawmakers and senators the opportunity to explain the latest regulatory and legislative laws approved by Mexico’s Congress and allow input on potential US energy sector involvement. For information about attending or other forum details, please contact me at mark@thegtdgroup.com.

The message is clear: America Needs America’s Energy! Together we can Create the People’s Energy Plan! Go to www.peoplesenergyplan.com to join the effort.

Facebook: America Needs America’s Energy with over 10,600 supporters plus and growing. — America Needs America’s Energy: Creating Together the People’s Energy Plan!