It’s no secret that investment in our nation’s energy infrastructure results in major economic growth. A recent study undertaken by the American Petroleum Institute in partnership with ICF illustrates the impacts of private infrastructure development, revealing some major insights into the industry’s capacity for job creation and economic opportunity. According to the study, private investment in U.S. natural gas and oil infrastructure could create over 1 million U.S. jobs over the next 20 years.
API’s findings also indicate that Ohio would rank among the top states directly benefiting from infrastructure investment, with “energy infrastructure investment … support[ing] on average more than 48,000 jobs per year and generat[ing] more than $95 billion to the state’s GDP through 2035.”
Nationwide, infrastructure expansion could result in the following economic growth:
- Up to a million jobs could be supported.
- Up to $1.34 trillion in private natural gas and oil infrastructure investment could occur.
- Up to $1.89 trillion could be added to the U.S. GDP.
Kyle Isakower, API vice president of regulatory and economic policy, underscored the financial gains that households would see from infrastructure investment:
“By 2035, if the right regulatory policies are in place, private investment could exceed $1.3 trillion for oil and natural gas infrastructure, and create more than 1 million jobs … Already, reliable access to energy has helped drive down utility, product and other energy-related costs providing a $1337 boost to the average American household in 2015. U.S. industrial electricity costs are 30-50 percent lower than those of our foreign competitors, giving manufacturers – including producers of steel, chemicals, refined fuels, plastics, fertilizers and numerous other products – a major competitive advantage.”
Further, Robin Rorick, API midstream and industry operations group director, notes the environmental benefits of natural gas infrastructure:
“The United States leads the world in carbon reductions thanks primarily to greater use of natural gas … Carbon emissions from power generation have plunged to nearly 30-year lows, and more than 60 percent of those reductions from 2005 to 2016 have been the result of switching to generation from clean-burning natural gas. By moving forward with private investments in U.S. natural gas and oil infrastructure we can ensure that the United States has the critical framework to sustain America’s energy leadership.”
This illustration of the economic impacts of infrastructure development demonstrates just how important projects like the Rover Pipeline are – not only for safely and efficiently transporting energy resources, but in facilitating an enormous number of opportunities and benefits down the line. CEPI applauds API for undertaking such a thorough analysis of these effects.