From The Center Square

By Bethany Blankley

Energy policies included in the U.S. House budget reconciliation package represent a “significant shift in U.S. energy policy,” those in the Texas energy sector argue.

This is after the industry has expressed trepidation over Trump energy and tariff policies that created uncertainty in the market by driving up costs, reducing domestic output and dissuading domestic producers from investing in exploration and expanded production, The Center Square reported.

While the Texas oil and natural gas industry reported job gains in January and February, it reported losses in March for the first time in months as rig counts dropped, The Center Square reported. The industry slightly rebounded in April, according to the latest employment data, The Center Square reported.

Uncertainty in the industry remains due to federal energy policies and “numerous economic and geopolitical factors” that continue to impact domestic production and related investment decisions, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) said. This includes Trump administration tariffs on steel and aluminum and encouraging OPEC+ countries to increase production, driving down domestic production and profits, The Center Square reported.

However, a positive development is a commitment to reversing Biden administration-era policies, TIPRO notes. This includes Congress prioritizing pro-energy policies in its budget reconciliation bill, referred to by President Donald Trump as one “big, beautiful bill.” The policies include expanding federal fossil fuel leasing, reducing royalty rates, streamlining the permitting process, repealing so-called clean energy incentives, refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and delaying the Methane Emissions Reduction Program (MERP).

The proposals were included in the energy sections of the House Ways and Means Committee and House Natural Resources Committee packages, including prioritizing expanding fossil fuel production, TIPRO notes. The sections were included in the package before the House Budget Committee, which failed to advance it on Friday.

TIPRO and others have called for prioritizing domestic energy production, expanding critical infrastructure, including LNG ports and pipelines, protecting key tax provisions essential to the industry, among other priorities.

Included in the House package is a requirement for at least 30 oil and natural gas lease sales to be made on federal land and in the Gulf of America over the next 15 years. In Alaska, it requires six lease sales for Cook Inlet and authorizes leasing to begin in the National Petroleum Reserve and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It also reinstates quarterly onshore oil and gas lease sales, generating an estimated $12 billion in revenue, TIPRO notes.

House energy proposals also reduce royalty rates to 12.5% for onshore and offshore drilling, down from 16.67% and 18.75%, respectively, and put processes in place to increase permitting approvals for energy projects.

House Republicans also repealed provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, including clean energy incentives that provided tax credits for electric vehicles and renewable energy projects. They also curtailed the hydrogen production credit and expired “technology neutral” clean energy credits by 2031, TIPRO notes.

The House proposal also allocated $1.5 billion to replenish the SPR and delayed MERP by 10 years.

“With the exponential growth in energy demand forecasted in the coming years, oil and natural gas will continue to play a dominant role, but we must have the right strategy in place to provide regulatory and economic certainty to our members for the benefit of our country and allies,” TIPRO President Ed Longanecker said.

With Texas continuing to lead the U.S. in oil and natural gas production, emissions reductions and job growth, “sound policies that support fair business practices and laws that keep our state competitive are necessary if Texas is going to continue to benefit from oil and natural gas activity,” Texas Oil & Gas Association President Todd Staples said.

This article supplied by Troy Media.

By Perry Kinkaide and Bill Jones

It’s time Canadians admitted Alberta’s oilpatch pays the bills. Other provinces just cash the cheques

When Canadians grumble about Alberta’s energy ambitions—labelling the province greedy for wanting to pump more oil—few stop to ask how much
money from each barrel ends up owing to them?

The irony is staggering. The very provinces rallying for green purity are cashing cheques underwritten not just by Alberta, but indirectly by the United States, which purchases more than 95 per cent of Alberta’s oil and gas, paid in U.S. dollars.

That revenue doesn’t stop at the Rockies. It flows straight to Ottawa, funding equalization programs (which redistribute federal tax revenue to help less wealthy provinces), national infrastructure and federal services that benefit the rest of the country.

This isn’t political rhetoric. It’s economic fact. Before the Leduc oil discovery in 1947, Alberta received about $3 to $5 billion (in today’s dollars) in federal support. Since then, it has paid back more than $500 billion. A $5-billion investment that returned 100 times more is the kind of deal that would send Bay Street into a frenzy.

Alberta’s oilpatch includes a massive industry of energy companies, refineries and pipeline networks that produce and export oil and gas, mostly to the U.S. Each barrel of oil generates roughly $14 in federal revenue through corporate taxes, personal income taxes, GST and additional fiscal capacity that boosts equalization transfers. Multiply that by more than 3.7 million barrels of oil (plus 8.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas) exported daily, and it’s clear Alberta underwrites much of the country’s prosperity.

Yet many Canadians seem unwilling to acknowledge where their prosperity comes from. There’s a growing disconnect between how goods are consumed and how they’re produced. People forget that gasoline comes from oil wells, electricity from power plants and phones from mining. Urban slogans like “Ban Fossil Fuels” rarely engage with the infrastructure and fiscal reality that keeps the country running.

Take Prince Edward Island, for example. From 1957 to 2023, it received $19.8 billion in equalization payments and contributed just $2 billion in taxes—a net gain of $17.8 billion.

Quebec tells a similar story. In 2023 alone, it received more than $14 billion in equalization payments, while continuing to run balanced or surplus budgets. From 1961 to 2023, Quebec received more than $200 billion in equalization payments, much of it funded by revenue from Alberta’s oil industry..

To be clear, not all federal transfers are equalization. Provinces also receive funding through national programs such as the Canada Health Transfer and
Canada Social Transfer. But equalization is the one most directly tied to the relative strength of provincial economies, and Alberta’s wealth has long driven that system.

By contrast to the have-not provinces, Alberta’s contribution has been extraordinary—an estimated 11.6 per cent annualized return on the federal
support it once received. Each Canadian receives about $485 per year from Alberta-generated oil revenues alone. Alberta is not the problem—it’s the
foundation of a prosperous Canada.

Still, when Alberta questions equalization or federal energy policy, critics cry foul. Premier Danielle Smith is not wrong to challenge a system in which the province footing the bill is the one most often criticized.

Yes, the oilpatch has flaws. Climate change is real. And many oil profits flow to shareholders abroad. But dismantling Alberta’s oil industry tomorrow wouldn’t stop climate change—it would only unravel the fiscal framework that sustains Canada.

The future must balance ambition with reality. Cleaner energy is essential, but not at the expense of biting the hand that feeds us.

And here’s the kicker: Donald Trump has long claimed the U.S. doesn’t need Canada’s products and therefore subsidizes Canada. Many Canadians scoffed.

But look at the flow of U.S. dollars into Alberta’s oilpatch—dollars that then bankroll Canada’s federal budget—and maybe, for once, he has a point.
It’s time to stop denying where Canada’s wealth comes from. Alberta isn’t the problem. It’s central to the country’s prosperity and unity.

Dr. Perry Kinkaide is a visionary leader and change agent. Since retiring in 2001, he has served as an advisor and director for various organizations and founded the Alberta Council of Technologies Society in 2005. Previously, he held leadership roles at KPMG Consulting and the Alberta Government. He holds a BA from Colgate University and an MSc and PhD in Brain Research from the University of Alberta.

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