"On the Defensive a Year Ago, the American Petroleum Institute Is Back"

"The oil and gas lobby, looking at resurgent production, has more than held its own in dealings with the Biden administration."

"What a difference a year makes. The chief of the nation’s top oil and gas lobby laid out the state of his industry on Wednesday in a presentation that reflected a remarkable turnaround for the sector.

A year ago, with President Joe Biden taking office and Democrats seizing control of Congress, the oil industry appeared to face an existential crisis. Policymakers were promising to transition the nation away from fossil fuels, and the American Petroleum Institute’s chief executive Mike Sommers said his industry was ready for a fight.

Today, it seems, those fights have largely gone his way, at least so far. While Sommers repeated his warnings from last year against restricting oil and gas development, his tone was less combative.

“In policy debates this year, it’s possible we’ll find more agreement than usual,” he said, “if only because American energy leadership itself solves so many problems our nation faces.” He added, “With supply-chain failures, and with inflation on the minds of many Americans, the last thing anyone wants to see is more upward pressure on costs that are felt by every family and business.”"

Nicholas Kusnetz reports for Inside Climate News January 12, 2022.

Source: Inside Climate News, 01/13/2022