The Edmond Sun covered the speech Wednesday of John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, at the State Chamber of Oklahoma’s public affairs conference in Oklahoma City. It’s a clear recounting of Engler’s message on energy. From “Manufacturers CEO calls for more government support for energy“:

OKLAHOMA CITY — A long list of noes from the federal government has suppressed the energy industry’s ability to lessen the country’s dependence on foreign energy resources, said John Engler…

In a country where the last nuclear plant was completed in the 1980s, the last oil refinery plant was completed in the 1970s and lawsuits have stopped the construction of coal power plants, Engler said, the energy industry is in dire need of less regulation and more support from the federal government.

However, Oklahoma has a history of bipartisan support for energy development, Engler said, which is one reason why the state’s unemployment rate is 3 percentage point below the national rate.

From EnergyTomorrow.org, the American Petroleum Institute’s excellent website and blog, “Missed Opportunity at the Jobs Summit”:

API’s President Jack Gerard and Devon’s CEO and Chairman Larry Nichols called the White House Jobs Summit a “missed opportunity” during a conference call with reporters this morning, and wondered why the oil and natural gas industry was not invited.

America’s oil and natural industry employs and supports a total of 9.2 million U.S. jobs. It powers most of the energy that heats U.S. homes, fuels factories and offices, and gets people to home and work. It also adds more than $1 trillion to the national economy.

Yet, Larry said today that despite the fact that the industry asked to attend today’s Jobs Summit, he was not aware of anyone from an oil and natural gas trade association or a traditional energy company who had been invited.

Brian Faughnan, writing at new project, TheConservatives.com, “An Idea for the Job Summit: Stop the War on Coal.”

It’s true business trade associations were left off the attendee list for the White House gig, which is OK. The White House is generally quite good about taking input from people, and there are many fine manufacturing thinkers attending.

Still, we had to laugh at the explanation for the associations’ absence, as paraphrased by the Washington Post today in the preview story, “As Obama opens jobs summit, he faces limited options for growth“:

The White House, which has clashed with some of the business groups over their opposition to health-care reform and other initiatives, says it has met repeatedly with those organizations and wants to hear fresh ideas.

Oh, c’mon now. The fresh ideas of Anna Burger of the SEIU? The novel, innovative thinking of Leo Gerard of the Steelworkers?

UPDATE (3:05 p.m.): API issued a news release with its morning conference call.

UPDATE (3:14 p.m.): White House has released list of attendees. The fresh ideas of Andy Stern! The outre observations of Robert Reich!

Prepared testimony from Wednesday’s hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee, “Offshore Drilling: Industrial Perspectives.”

Witnesses:
Marvin E. Odum, President, Shell Oil Company
Lamar McKay, Chairman and President, BP America, Inc.
Larry Nichols, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Devon Energy Corporation
Tim Cejka, President, ExxonMobil Exploration Company
Gary Luquette, President, Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company
Karen A. Harbert, President & CEO, Institute for 21st Century Energy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Nichols testified not just as chairman of Devon but also as chairman of the American Petroleum Institute. His statement was also endorsed by the American Exploration & Production Council, Independent Petroleum Association of America, International Association of Drilling Contractors, National Ocean Industries Association, Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association, and the US Oil & Gas Association.

His conclusion:

What the nation needs is a policy that increases, not decreases, domestic energy production. Offshore development is a vital component of U.S. energy development. Barriers to offshore oil and natural gas production contribute to volatile energy prices, slower economic growth, lost American jobs and a weakened U.S. position in global markets. We need to find and develop our offshore oil and natural gas resources in an orderly, efficient, and environmentally sound way. By so doing, we can put America on the road to economic recovery and help ensure our nation’s energy security for decades to come.

With Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) leading House Natural Resource Committee hearings into Outer Continental Shelf energy development, the American Energy Alliance this week released a study attempting the analyze the economic impact of expanded OCS exploration and production. The full report is here: “The Economic Contribution of Increased Offshore Oil Exploration and Production to Regional and National Economies.”

From the four-page summary:

National Annual Effects
Over the life of production, increased resource production in OCS Planning Areas will contribute more than $8 trillion to GDP and supply more than $2.2 trillion in incremental tax receipts.

And the key table:

Chairman Rahall holds another hearing starting at 10 a.m. today, “Offshore Drilling: Industrial Perspectives.” Testifying are representatives of many NAM companies:

Marvin E. Odum, President, Shell Oil Company
Lamar McKay, Chairman and President, BP America, Inc.
Larry Nichols, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Devon Energy Corporation
Tim Cejka, President, ExxonMobil Exploration Company
Gary Luquette, President, Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company

Also on the panel is Karen A. Harbert, President & CEO, Institute for 21st Century Energy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce.