WASHINGTON, June 25, 2013 – API President and CEO Jack Gerard welcomed the president’s acknowledgment of the role natural gas has played to reduce U.S. CO2 emissions to near 20 year lows, but cautioned new regulations and higher taxes on energy production would be an economic disaster that could actually threaten America’s progress in lowering emissions: 

    "The president recognizes the important role natural gas has played in reducing CO2 levels to near 20 year lows, thanks to private investments in energy exploration, production and refining. Those investments in America’s energy potential have led us to the point of being the world’s largest producer of natural gas, and flipped plans to import LNG into plans to export it.

    “But by recycling his plans to raise taxes on U.S. oil and natural gas companies, President Obama runs the risk of unwinding the significant environmental benefits from natural gas, threatens our economic recovery and dampens our ability to create millions of jobs for Americans.

    “Ironically, the president’s plan to raise taxes by eliminating cost recovery for U.S. oil and natural gas companies would jeopardize his own climate goals by making some of those investments uneconomic. After a handful of years, we would see less domestic energy production – particularly of natural gas – more imports, fewer new jobs, and, eventually, depressed tax, royalty and other revenues to governments at all levels.”

API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America's energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested more than $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.