To frack or not to frack is not a question for Harris

A week before Election Day, with Pennsylvania emerging as a swing state likely to win and secure the White House, Kamala Harris has allayed some concerns about her tolerance of fracking, the dominant natural gas extraction method that has made the U.S. the world’s largest producer of natural gas. manufacturer in the world.

But whether Harris will wholeheartedly support natural gas, including the critical pipeline infrastructure to transport that gas to generate electricity, heat homes and export to U.S. allies, is still unclear.

The executive director of the country’s natural gas pipeline association told Forbes: “I think it’s unclear. I think it’s still unclear whether Harris will embrace the natural gas value chain.

“Every policymaker should be asked how they are going to build the energy infrastructure, including the pipelines needed to meet the growing energy demand in this country,” said Amy Andrisak, president and CEO of the Interstate Gas Association of America (INGAA).

Andrishak praised Harris’ new stance on “no fracking ban” and her acknowledgment that the country needs to reform the process by which pipelines are allowed to be built.

While permitting reform will require legislative changes proposed by Congress, an administration that “builds on the importance of natural gas,” emphasizes the value of natural gas and “what a good source of fuel it is,” would be helpful and supportive of the industry. – Andryshak said.

“That tone can be set from the top,” she said.

Natural gas accounts for 43% of U.S. electricity generation, according to the Energy Information Administration.

“The demand for gas currently exceeds the capacity of the relevant pipelines,” Andryszak said.

Between 2010 and 2022, demand for natural gas in the United States increased by 45%. This exceeded the growth of pipeline capacity by only 28%.

Less than 1 billion cubic feet of capacity was added last year, she said.

“These statistics tell us that the demand for natural gas is growing year after year, but the increase in pipeline capacity is not keeping pace,” Andryshak said.

“If we don’t build more pipelines, we will have a real mismatch between supply and demand. And this discrepancy will only grow,” Andryshak said.

She strongly urged the new administration to prioritize expansion of energy infrastructure to meet the country’s growing electricity demand.

Forbes reports that with the rise of artificial intelligence, data centers and the energy transition centered around electrification, the demand for electricity is growing exponentially.

Half of America produces natural gas

Pennsylvania is the largest producer of natural gas in the US after Texas, but more than half of US states produce the resource.

In Pennsylvania, fracking supports approximately 123,000 jobs and more than $41 billion in economic activity is at stake.

But 37 states produced natural gas in 2023, and 19 states, including Harris’ home state of California, produced natural gas through fracking, according to the EIA.

Most natural gas is used to generate electricity, and most American households use natural gas for space heating and water heating, cooking and drying clothes, according to the American Gas Association, which represents 200 companies that supply natural gas to consumers.

Forbes has written extensively about Biden Harris’ industrial energy policy, which would invest $1 trillion to develop a new clean energy economy.

While Harris touted the unprecedented investment, she also said her administration would not be “a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency.”

In her latest interview with Anderson Cooper, Harris said, “I think we’ve proven that we can invest in the clean energy economy. We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We can work to preserve what we need to do to protect our beautiful land and not ban fracking.”

This was music to Andryshak’s ears.

“I would really like to see the Biden administration do more to leverage the strategic resource that we have in natural gas, which I think has been a driver of renewable energy deployment,” she said.

The Energy Research Institute released a list of 250 ways the Biden Harris administration has made oil and gas production more difficult.

In short, the Biden Harris administration began by shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline and imposing a moratorium on all onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing.

The administration ends its term by pausing work on new liquefied natural gas exports and U.S. infrastructure projects.

“If you want renewable energy to come online, you need natural gas and associated infrastructure,” Andryszak said. “Nothing beats natural gas when we talk about an additional and reliable fuel source on demand.”

Harris Avatars

Where Kamala Harris stands on fossil fuels these days depends on which Harris you ask.

It’s no secret that the presidential candidate has taken a swipe at the energy industry.

As a senator, Harris co-authored the famous Green New Deal to phase out fossil fuels and transition the entire economy to renewable resources.

California Attorney General Harris went after major oil and gas companies when she was a prosecutor, and in 2019, candidate Harris warned oil companies that they should be prepared to pay hefty fines and even face criminal charges for their role in climate change if it became president.

Consistent with this position, in 2019 candidate Harris told CNN: “There’s no doubt about it, I’m in favor of banning fracking.”

In 2020, when she joined Biden’s presidential ticket as vice president, Harris said, “Joe Biden will not ban fracking.” President Biden apparently has not banned fracking.

Some observers have said a federal ban would require an act of Congress rather than an executive order from the President of the United States. However, the federal government can argue that fracking pollutes the environment or threatens human health and impose new restrictions or fines.

Meanwhile, states can initiate their own bans; five states have. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example, has worked for years to ban the practice in the state.

During the 2024 campaign, as she led the Democratic ticket, Harris said she would not ban fracking.

“I interpret the vice president’s change of position on fracking as her acknowledgment that there is a growing demand for energy in this country, and natural gas is an abundant, affordable and reliable source of energy in the United States that has contributed to decarbonization,” Andryszak said.

The enemy of oil and gas

Since the start of the campaign, Harris has boasted about record U.S. oil and gas production.

During her debate against Trump, Harris said the US is seeing “the largest increase in domestic oil production in history thanks to an approach that recognizes that we cannot become overly reliant on foreign oil.”

The U.S. produced an average of 12.9 million barrels per day in 2023 under Biden, breaking the previous U.S. record of 12.3 million barrels per day set in 2019 under former President Trump, according to the EIA.

Typically, almost a decade passes between investing in oil and gas and seeing a profit.

How much, if any, of current output under Biden can be attributed to his policies rather than market forces and oil company investments is a matter of analysis and debate.

However, in 2019, Forbes reported that Trump raised more money for the US Treasury from domestic oil and gas leases than any president in US history.

Ironically, in the name of national security, Forbes recently reported that the Biden Harris administration is helping Iraq increase oil and gas production and build a pipeline between Iraq and Turkey.

The US fossil fuel sector has also made progress over the past four years.

Although President Biden has canceled seven leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he is allowing oil giant ConocoPhillips to continue its controversial Willow project, Alaska’s largest new oil field in decades.

In the Inflation Relief Act, Biden also gave oil giants subsidies to produce hydrogen from natural gas.