Jack Gerard, the oil industry’s top lobbyist in Washington who spent eight years clashing with the Obama administration over energy policy, announced Wednesday he’ll step down this summer, creating a key opening for the sector at a time that it’s poised for even greater growth under President Trump’s fossil fuel-friendly approach.
Mr. Gerard, the president and CEO of the powerful American Petroleum Institute, said he’ll leave his post in August when his contract expires. He’s been with API, the oil industry’s most prominent trade group and a politically potent force in Washington, for a decade.
“Serving the oil and natural gas industry during this historic time, when an American energy renaissance has made the U.S. the world’s leading producer and refiner of oil and natural gas, has been among the most fulfilling professional experiences of my career,” he said in a statement. “We have accomplished what few would have imagined: important public policy victories at all levels of government, and a revitalized association that has expanded globally and added significant strength to its advocacy capabilities”
Indeed, Mr. Gerard presided over API during a time of unprecedented growth for the U.S. oil-and-gas industry. He’s been at the forefront of a massive expansion in domestic oil and natural gas drilling over the past decade, and during his tenure, the U.S. has become a global leader in oil and gas development and has reversed America’s longstanding status as an importer of energy.
In 2006, the U.S. produced 5,086 barrels of crude oil each day on average. By 2016, that had grown to 8,857 — the highest figure since the 1980s. American natural gas production also hit record highs during Mr. Gerard’s time at API, thanks largely to the shale gas revolution and the perfection of the drilling technique known as fracking.
In 2006, the U.S. produced 18.5 million cubic feet of natural gas. In 2016, production grew to 26.7 million cubic feet. The U.S. set an all-time record for gas production in 2015 at 27.1 million cubic feet, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
That growth took place almost entirely during the Obama administration, and Mr. Gerard used API as a key voice in arguing against federal restrictions on energy development. He clashed with the Obama White House on offshore drilling, regulations aimed at limiting fracking, a lack of drilling on federal lands, methane rules for wells, and a host of other issues.
Mr. Gerard frequently butted heads with the ethanol industry, and API over the past decade has become one of the loudest voices in arguing against expansion of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires increasing amounts of ethanol be blended with gasoline each year.
Environmentalists, who long have seen API as one of their chief opponents, said Wednesday’s announcement could give the organization a rare opportunity to refocus its mission on greener ways to extract gas and oil.
“The path charted by Mr. Gerard has been neither environmentally sound nor economically sustainable,” said Ben Ratner, director at the Environmental Defense Fund. “I hope there is a day in the not too distant future where API engages constructively to advance climate and environmental safeguards that work for business and the environment. Let’s hope API’s forward thinking members use their influence to hire a leader who responds to the real challenges the industry faces.”
At the helm of the wealthy oil-and-gas industry, Mr. Gerard also became one of Washington’s highest-paid lobbyists. He earned $6.3 million in 2015 from API and related organizations, according to the group’s IRS filings.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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