WASHINGTON, DC — Following the American Petroleum Industry’s (API) annual “State of American Energy” speech, Tom Buis released the following statement:
“API’s ‘State of American Energy’ speech, brought to you by Big Oil, is nothing new. While oil companies talk about the future of energy in this country, they seem fixated on a finite resource and fail to acknowledge that renewable fuels play a critical role in meeting the nation’s growing energy needs of the future.
“While they may mention an ‘all of the above’ approach, the reality is that they continue to pursue ‘all of the above, except renewables.’ API may believe the resurgence of American energy production is limited to fossil fuels, but the reality is that across America, innovators are producing first and second generation biofuels that help fuel our nation.
“Furthermore, the growth in domestic fossil fuel production simply falls short of the overwhelming energy needs of our nation. In fact, the most recent data show total U.S. oil consumption at a whopping 18.5 million barrels per day and domestic production at 6.48 million barrels per day. So, even during what API describes as an ‘energy renaissance’ of domestic production, we are only producing slightly more than one-third of what we consume each day. This is simply not sustainable.
“The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is working. Since 2005, renewable fuels have helped decrease foreign oil imports by 33 percent. Not to mention it has helped create some 400,000 good paying jobs that cannot be outsourced, all while improving our environment with a cleaner burning fuel that provides consumers savings and a choice at the pump.
“The API wants to kill any competition that may threaten their bottom line and record profits. They will stop at nothing to end the Renewable Fuel Standard, blocking the wide spread adoption of renewable fuels that consumers demand by maintaining the blend wall to prevent market access for higher blends of biofuels such as E15 to ensure that their lock on the fuels market goes unchecked.
“The RFS is the most successful energy policy this nation has enacted in the last 40 years. Not only is it creating jobs, it is revitalizing rural economies and driving America’s robust farm economy. The RFS is a win-win for America, as it is an essential part of a true “all of the above” energy strategy needed to meet the growing energy demands of the 21st century.”
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