The Fossil-fuel Era: Still Young

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 29, 2024

“Oil, gas, and coal are ascending despite determined government efforts to reverse energy progress. With criteria air pollutants on the wane and carbon dioxide (CO2) benefits laboratory-proven, the increasing sustainability of fossil fuels is evident.”

Each years brings record production of the three fossil fuels: oil, natural gas, and coal. Peak demand is not in sight–nor should it be in a world of rising population, the aspiring poor, and new ways to employ inanimate energy to improve living. But what about future supply to meet growing demand?

In most nations of the world, free-market energy plenty is held back by government intervention. Government ownership and operation of fossil fuels and related infrastructure impedes supply and demand. But fossil fuel plenty is very hard to hold back, and enough is produced to reasonably meet demand. Such is true in the United States despite two hundred impediments from the Biden Administration. “The U.S. now has 227 years of oil supply, 130 years of natural gas supply, and 485 years of coal supply,” the study below reports. Canadian oil soldiers on despite the anti-energy policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Mexico, a potential rival to Texas as a hydrocarbon center of the world, is the sad story of resource socialization and nationalization in place of private ownership of the subsoil and above-ground infrastructure. This country’s bountiful hydrocarbons await liberation in a future decade or century.

North American Energy

The Institute for Energy Research (IER) has just released an update to its 2011 study, 2024 North American Energy Inventory. As more oil, gas, and coal is produced, more is discovered to be produced, the amazing (but not biblical) story of resource expansion from free-market resourceship. Some highlights follow:

North America has vast energy resources, including oil, natural gas, and coal. These resources are enough to meet the country’s needs for hundreds of years to come. The first edition of the North American Energy Inventory, released in 2011, challenged the myth of energy scarcity and demonstrated the abundance of energy resources in North America.

Since 2011, the U.S. has become the world’s top producer of both oil and natural gas, thanks in large measure to technology. This has led to lower energy prices, job creation, and environmental benefits. The U.S. now has 227 years of oil supply, 130 years of natural gas supply, and 485 years of coal supply.

Canada also has abundant energy resources, including the fourth-largest global quantity of oil reserves. Mexico, on the other hand, has seen its energy production and reserves decline in recent years due primarily to government policies.

The current administration has taken hundreds of actions to make it harder to produce oil, natural gas, and coal in the U.S. In addition to regulatory impediments, the oil, natural gas, and coal industries face other challenges, such as difficulty raising capital, anti-fossil fuel activism, and competition from subsidized renewable energy sources.

Benefits of Domestic Energy Production:

• Abundant and reliable energy: The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas,
  which provides a secure and reliable supply of energy for the country.
• Lower prices: Oil prices have largely shrugged off events like Russia invading Ukraine and instability in the Middle East—activities that would have driven up oil prices a decade or two ago. U.S. oil production is key to this new stability, saving families money and making the U.S. more competitive in the global economy.
• Job creation: The oil and gas industries support millions of jobs in the U.S., both directly and indirectly. These jobs are often well-paying and provide good benefits.
• Environmental improvements: The U.S. has made significant progress in reducing air pollution
  in recent years, even as energy production has increased. This is due, in part, to improved
  pollution control technologies.

Final Comment

Oil, gas, and coal are ascending despite determined government efforts to reverse energy progress. With criteria air pollutants on the wane and carbon dioxide (CO2) benefits laboratory-proven, the increasing sustainability of fossil fuels is evident.

The fossil fuel era is very young in human history, having eclipsed the renewable energy era just several centuries ago. IER’s recent inventory study confirms the benefits of even a quasi-free market can do. Resourceship forever!