These twelve months are the ones we deserve, everyone. After thousands of lost jobs, dozens of baseless protests, and interminable money lost to our economy as a whole, the United States oil and gas industry is ready to rebuild.
Here’s how it’s going to happen.
Washington Has Become De-Regulation Central
For more than a decade, the energy sector faced an administration that was dead set on curbing its ability to expand. In 2018, however, some significant environmental policy shifts are poised to help the oil and gas industry more than ever before.
- The United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement allows US companies to work with the people to determine their destiny.
- The EPA cleaned house, becoming friendlier and less oppressive.
- Carbon emissions will become the responsibility of corporations (one they take very seriously) thanks to the rollback of the Clean Power Plan.
Those big changes will make a tremendous difference in the coming months.
Okay, Maybe the Protesting Isn’t Quite Over
In the minds of every anti-fracking protestor, 2017 was a “losing” year. Never mind the fact that the oil and gas industry isn’t keeping score, most demonstrators will be approaching 2018 with an extra dose of tenacity.
Protestors and activists around the country are preparing to fight the recent de-regulation attempts with legal opposition as well as a fresh round of on-site organization.
International Competition Still Won’t Be Much to Talk About
Every day it seems that some new country around the world is publicizing their plans to build a thriving oil and gas community. Those efforts to develop a stable economic environment are laudable, but it will still be some time before they can genuinely compete with the United States.
Not only is the United States’ oil and gas sector poised to thrive in 2018, but researchers suspect that oil deposits throughout the country will see considerable investment.
By 2025, foreign oil and gas might nip at US oil profits, but in 2018, things are looking good.
The Long and the Short
OPEC has continued its production cuts while extraction companies throughout the United States continue to let their production ebb and flow to meet demand. Add to that the growing demand for oil and gas energy and the result is an environment where there is little to stop the increasing might of oil and gas.
It’s going to be a good year.