Obama focuses on drilling jobs on American soil

In his recent State of the Union Address, President Obama has broached the subject of finding ways to create renewable energy, whilst keeping one eye firmly on the existing gas and oil industry.

Economic Leaders

President Obama is well aware of the importance of renewable energy sources. In his latest State of the Union Address, he said that: "providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future, because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation." However, Obama is also well aware that investing in the clean energy industry will require a vast effort from the oil and gas industry, resulting in the creation of new oil jobs and oil careers such as drilling jobs and oil rig jobs.

Renewable Energy Needs Oil?

In order to escalate his proposal for renewable energy, President Obama will have to increase his country's oil and gas productivity. He has already put the wheels in motion by offering tax breaks to smaller American oil companies, allowing them to explore and refine new oil fields within the US. Many of these oil fields are simply of no interest to larger companies. Partially, this is due to the lack of incentives available to the larger multi-national companies. But it is also due to the size of these oil fields: for global-sized companies they are simply too small to invest in. However, for the smaller companies, they offer a great opportunity for expansion and the creation of jobs.

Supply and Demand

A major reason for the maintenance of America's oil and gas industry is the ratio of supply and demand. Currently, the US is the world's third largest producer and the world's leading consumer of oil and gas. This puts President Obama's promises in perspective and should allay any fears felt by anyone offering oil jobs and oil careers; the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy will take a considerable amount of time to implement, as the world's economy is dependent on the fuels currently used. The President's decision to encourage ‘local' drilling is a prudent one; Texas alone is responsible for 24% of the country's oil supply, producing more than 1,000,000 barrels a day. There is more economic sense in encouraging exploration on American soil than there is spending out for foreign firms to supply the US with a fuel that it already holds substantial reserves of. By focusing on American oil, Obama will not only cut the costs of oil production, but will also create more oil jobs and increase the USA's ability to export these resources.
While Obama must pursue his country's search for ‘clean' fuels, he is right to ensure that the oil and gas industry is sustainable for the foreseeable future. Without the support offered by fossil fuels, the search for renewable energy will collapse before it begins. In addition, the oil and gas industries are the bedrocks of our current global economy and it will be some time before we can dispense with them entirely.