Natural Gas Energy Forum Opening Remarks

U.S. Chamber
October 1, 2003

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. I'm Tom Donohue, the Chamber's president and CEO, and I'm pleased to kick off today's conference.

First, let me thank our sponsors for making this event possible:

• The American Chemistry Council
• The American Petroleum Institute
• ChevronTexaco Corporation, and
• TXU Corporation.

Some of you may have been here to attend the Chamber's energy summits of the past two years.

Those programs put a spotlight on our nation's energy challenges and were influential in getting the House and Senate to pass comprehensive energy legislation, which is now, we hope, in the final stages of negotiation in conference committee.

A comprehensive energy strategy requires building reliable and affordable supplies of every type of energy – petroleum, coal, nuclear, and natural gas, as well as renewables.

Today's program is the first in a series of forums that will examine in closer detail the challenges and opportunities associated with each of these energy sources.

Natural gas is a good place to start because the country is facing a shortage of it that could severely threaten our global competitiveness and economic strength.

For many years, the federal government has given home owners and businesses incentives to switch from oil and coal to cleaner burning natural gas for environmental reasons.

More and more homeowners and businesses, especially those in manufacturing, are making the switch.

But while demand for natural gas has increased, supplies have not because of government rules prohibiting exploration and drilling. The entire east and west coasts, 65% of the Gulf of Mexico, and 45% of the Rocky Mountains are off limits.

The result? Natural gas supplies are at dangerously low levels, pushing prices to record highs.

This is taking a tremendous toll on some of the most important sectors of our economy.

Some 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost over the past four years, due in large part to the dramatic spikes in gas prices.

The U.S. chemicals industry has seen its global dominance disappear because of natural gas price increases. In just four years, our $8 billion trade surplus in chemicals has turned into a $9 billion deficit.

The solution is more domestic exploration and development and less dependence on foreign natural gas suppliers.

The good news is, we have the resources. This country sits atop a reservoir of natural gas. We need to tap this supply and get it to market.

The kind of production and infrastructure improvements necessary to meet our growing demand will require decades of substantial investment.

Over the next 20 years, we will have to double the number of oil and gas wells drilled every year and increase by a third our transmission and distribution line mileage.

Meeting these challenges requires strong leaders in Congress, and our first speaker today certainly fits that bill.

Hailed by Roll Call as one of Congress' "Next Generation of Leaders," Representative Chris John from Louisiana is a member of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee and has been instrumental in crafting a national energy policy.

In the spring, he introduced separate legislation that calls for the acceleration of natural gas exploration, development, and production on the Outer Continental Shelf.

A leader of the Blue Dog Coalition, Representative John has been influential in building bipartisan support for the House energy bill.

Congressman John has been a close Chamber ally during the energy debate, and we're confident that his continued leadership will produce a bill that will meet our natural gas needs for decades to come.

Please join me in welcoming Congressman Chris John.