The 2024 summer driving season is in full swing, enabling fun-in-the-sun family vacations, picnics, and other outdoor activities at Ohio’s parks, rivers and recreation areas. The good news for motorists: lower crude oil prices and increased refinery output have put downward pressure on prices at the pump, which as of July 1 had fallen 19 cents to $3.48 per gallon since late April, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gasoline prices at the start of July were 5 cents per gallon lower than in 2023.
These are positive trends for consumers, yet policy choices in Washington pose significant risks for American families and businesses. These include restrictions on access to domestic natural gas and oil resources, as well as an EPA tailpipe emissions regulation that effectively puts bureaucrats in charge of vehicle selection. The regulation mandates that nearly a third of new passenger vehicles sold must be electric or plug-in hybrids by model year 2027, rising to more than two-thirds by model year 2032. These policies could lead to less reliable and more expensive energy sources and transportation modes.
Sadly, they aren’t the only policy misfires. The U.S. Energy Department’s freeze on new and pending liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, EPA’s new refinery rules, and restrictions on power plants are at the forefront of a regulatory policy offensive against the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. Further, recent regulations have put bipartisan permitting reform far out of reach, hindering needed infrastructure projects of all kinds, not just those supporting oil and natural gas. These actions could have long-lasting consequences in Ohio, making transportation, heating and infrastructure construction more costly.
For instance, columnist Salena Zito reported on the impact of the LNG freeze on Ohio farmers leasing natural gas mineral rights. Per the American Exploration and Production Council, LNG exports generated over $181 million in royalties for Ohio families.
Meanwhile, Ohio refineries that supply the Midwest with finished fuels and other products need supporting infrastructure, and new projects often are delayed for years by a federal permitting process that President Biden himself has blamed for blocking progress in America.
The fact is that for too long, Washington has sent mixed signals on natural gas and production, pipelines and other infrastructure, complicating our nation’s production and transportation of reliable, affordable energy.
Polling indicates Americans want a different approach. The API has advanced a plan that strengthens American energy leadership and offers help to Americans as they cope with inflation.
Ahead of November’s elections, as Ohioans travel this summer, they should remember that their state is at a crossroads in America’s energy policy. One path sacrifices energy abundance for policies that could raise prices and squander U.S. energy leadership. The other path recognizes that Ohio energy strengthens the state and the nation.
Conversely, the systematic push by federal agencies against U.S. natural gas and oil development risks our economy, threatens millions of jobs, reduces supplies to critical allies amid global conflict and could cause accelerating energy inflation. Instead, Washington should follow Ohio’s example. The state’s natural gas and oil companies support more than 350,000 jobs, provide more than $25 billion in wages and contribute more than $55 billion in economic impact. Ohio energy resources should be seen as a strategic asset, not a political football.
America is in a serious race for the future. Done right, it’s a future that would involve Ohio companies meeting growing energy demand and keeping the lights on for decades to come. As we consider gasoline prices this summer and beyond, leveraging Ohio’s natural gas and oil is the best way to strengthen America’s energy advantage.
Chris Zeigler is the Executive Director of the American Petroleum Institute Ohio.
