On the eve of Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam’s Energy Summit in Orlando, the chief economist for the American Petroleum Industry says the need remains for the U.S. to realistically explore all its energy options without hindering the resources now in use.

API Chief Economist John Felmy, in a conference call with reporters on Friday, said the nation needs to both move forward in exploring alternative options, but at the same time meet the existing needs by considering opening resource abundant areas in the Mid and South Atlantic and the Arctic.

“We need to focus on what we should do to help consumers and focus on remembering that while a lot of the discussion is focused on green technologies, and so on, we still have 250 million cars on the road in this country that run on petroleum for the foreseeable future,” Felmy said.

“Yes we’re going to need new technologies, but we’re going to need oil and gas for the foreseeable future.”

The conference call comes as API has ramped up its pressure on the Obama administration to pursue a promised “all-of the-above' energy strategy.”  

API has also urged the president to act on a letter from seven Republican governors comprising the Outer Continental Shelf Governors' Coalition -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, South Carolina Gov. Nikki R. Haley, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant -- that seeks advancing talks to expand exploration for oil and gas in the Outer Continental Shelf.

President Obama has continued to block drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, believing the government should play a role in promoting clean energy technologies that wean Americans off fossil fuels, and remaining undecided -- pending an expected U.S. State Department 2013 study -- on the future of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which is proposed to carry oil from Canada’s tar sands to the Gulf Coast.

As a counter, the Mitt Romney campaign has professed that the presumptive GOP presidential nominee would approve the Keystone pipeline on “day one” in office, support an expansion of domestic oil production in ANWR, and almost certainly remove support for the billions of dollars set aside for alternative energy, allowing the free market to determine which types of technologies succeed and fail.

“We have a vast amount of oil and gas in this country basically we’re sitting on, we’re not moving forward as fast as we could,” Felmy said. “You got the East Coast, West Coast, Eastern Gulf off limits, Alaska. If you were to open those areas you’d generate immediate revenue for the governor in terms of bonuses and bids on leases, jobs and more revenue, and energy security.”

“I know a lot gets into this debate over time, well it takes a lot of time. Yes it does, but the sooner you get at it, the faster. A quote from Confucius is ‘The best time to have planted a tree was 10 years ago.’  Well, it’s true about energy policy as well.”

The quote, most often listed as a Chinese proverb, is more often noted as “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

The latest call by API comes as both food and fuel prices have increased in the U.S.

Gas prices in Florida and across the U.S. were expected to remain steady as August comes to a close, with speculation for crude falling after European stimulus measures weren’t made, Iran's threats to disrupt supply didn't occur, and economic news remained lackluster. But instead, the prices continue to spike after the U.S. Labor Department announced the addition of 163,000 new jobs in July, and Tropical Storm Ernesto generated concern in the Gulf.

Florida’s energy summit, Aug. 15-17 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, is expected to feature research underway at Florida’s universities along with speakers offering short-term and long-term outlooks for the state’s energy industry, along with how the state’s supply and demand of electrical fuels and technologies has changed over the past decade.

Some criticisms have been tossed that while renewable and alternative powers include biomass and solar energy, little focus has been given to the more affordable coal and natural gas.  

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported that 2011 electricity prices in Florida were around 20 percent higher than in neighboring Southern states.



Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.