Washington D.C., U.S., March 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Joe Dryer testified on behalf of EnerGeo Alliance before the U.S. House of Representatives during the announced “energy week,” where the House is considering six energy-related bills and resolutions to promote U.S. energy dominance.
Dryer highlighted the role of energy geoscience and exploration as key energy enablers to ensure energy optionality and security and meeting future energy demand:
“Energy geoscience provides invaluable information about the resources beneath us that energy companies and policymakers can use to identify and prioritize high-density, lower-carbon intensive energy sources, locate where offshore wind facilities are best suited for harnessing the energy from wind, prolong the life of existing natural gas and petroleum assets, make it possible to store carbon beneath the surface, and more. Which is why at EnerGeo Alliance, we proudly say, “we are making energy possible.””
After noting the energy geoscience industry’s long track record of safe and responsible operations worldwide, Dryer mentioned “the need for legislative and regulatory efficiencies to meet future energy demands.” Then, Dryer focused on the geoscience role in developing offshore energy and carbon capture and storage projects: “As these projects are developed, it is critical that they are sited, designed, and managed in a manner that ensures and demonstrates the long-term technical and environmental integrity of the storage or sequestration. A vibrant geoscience industry is integral in meeting these lofty goals and well-defined efficient regulatory processes are required by U.S. and other policymakers.
“Policymakers should prioritize now the infrastructure required, including ensuring the efficient permitting of geoscience surveys needed for the identification and monitoring of the storage
areas. We strongly encourage BOEM (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) and the current administration to align regulations which currently exist or may be in development [...] so that geoscience activities are analyzed and authorized under the same metrics.
“Geoscience surveys provide the information governments and policymakers need to make informed decisions in the best interest of their citizens regarding accessing mainstay energy and alternative sources, as well as developing low-carbon strategies. As nations develop and implement their energy evolution goals to make reliable, affordable energy available to their citizens and meet Net Zero Emissions (NZE) policy ambitions, it is important to understand that those goals cannot and will not be realized without the critical data and technology the geoscience industry provides.
“At EnerGeo we are advocating to ensure all policymakers and energy companies have access to reliable data and analysis to support their forward-moving efforts.
“With an increasing need for energy from all sources, many predict the energy industry is at the start of an “international upcycle.” Where the industry invests now will be influenced by where they have access to insight (data), infrastructure and supportive regulatory and policy structures,” concluded Dryer.
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About EnerGeo Alliance
Founded in 1971, EnerGeo Alliance is a global trade alliance for the energy geoscience industry, the intersection where earth science and energy meet. The EnerGeo Alliance and its member companies span more than 50 countries, and together, unify to open the gateway to the safe discovery, development, and delivery of mainstay sources of energy, alternative energy and low-carbon energy solutions that meet our growing world’s needs.
