opening doors for U.S. energy security

November 2, 2007

Say the word “security,” and for some a locked door comes to mind. But energy security — ensuring Americans have continued access to reliable energy supplies — requires keeping our doors open.

By securing access to energy from a wide range of geographic sources, Americans can get the energy they need and protect against a disruption in any one area. More energy from more locations leads to greater security.

Each day, Americans use energy of all types equal to about 47 million barrels of oil to fuel their cars, turn on their lights, heat and cool their homes, and perform countless everyday tasks. By 2030, that number is expected to rise by about 25 percent, according to government agencies. To meet this growing need, we must:

• Spur the development of new technologies that expand our ability to find and deliver
  energy. That includes encouraging investment in R&D, and in the young minds who will create tomorrow’s technological breakthroughs.
• Increase access to energy resources in our own backyard. The U.S. federal government has ruled “off limits” an estimated 31 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 105 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That much energy could fuel 10 million U.S. light duty vehicles and heat more than 15 million U.S. homes for approximately 100 years. Put another way, that much oil equates to over 8 years of current U.S. crude oil imports. With the advanced technologies of today, the energy industry can develop these resources safely and responsibly, and manage the environmental risk to minimize impact.
• Promote economic investments that will expand the domestic and global energy supply pool. This will give Americans access to the widest range of energy choices in the international marketplace, and reduce the risk of relying on any one supplier. As the National Petroleum Council recently reported, “expansion of all economic sources will be required.” This includes fossil fuels, as well as alternatives such as nuclear and renewable energy when and where they can compete on their own.

Over the next few weeks, we will use this space to discuss how ExxonMobil is strengthening U.S. energy security by investing in energy projects at home and abroad. Over the last 20 years, we have invested about $280 billion worldwide, a figure that exceeds our total earnings over that period. In the last five years alone, we have invested more than $80 billion, including about one third in North America.

To achieve energy security, Americans must keep doors open — to new domestic energy supplies, to supplies available on global energy markets, and to the technology needed to make it all happen. Understanding this reality is the key to unlocking a secure energy future.