State House GOP outline plans for Pennsylvania to provide oil, gas stateside and abroad

Against the backdrop of President Joe Biden instituting a ban on Russian energy imports, Pennsylvania House Republicans on Tuesday advocated for having the Commonwealth’s energy producers meet the nation’s oil and gas demands.

“As calls to stop the import of Russian petroleum products echo through Europe and the United States, gas producing areas need to do their part to step up,” said State House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) during a March 8 press conference. “And while President Biden and other world leaders are looking to countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia — countries that do not share our values — to increase production and make up the difference, they really should be looking to places like Pennsylvania.”

Benninghoff said the state has abundant energy resources that can be scaled up and expanded. And “unlike Russia, Belarus, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, we share a commitment to freedom, human rights and individual liberty,” he said.

Several of his GOP colleagues joined Benninghoff during the press conference — dubbed “Divesting From Russia; Investing in Freedom” — where they also stumped for their related legislative plans to increase Pennsylvania’s oil and gas production and distribution.

State House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York) pointed out during the press conference that as the nation’s second-largest natural gas producer, Pennsylvania stands ready to meet the demands of consumers across the country. 

“There is no justifiable reason to have Russian LNG imports in our country,” Saylor said. “Not only have anti-energy policies from President Joe Biden down to blue-state governors resulted in increased costs to consumers, but they mean that we as a country are helping to finance Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked war on Ukraine through oil and natural gas imports,” said Saylor. “It’s unconscionable and outright shameful.”

On March 1, Saylor again announced plans to introduce a resolution urging governors in New York and New Jersey to end policies banning the construction of new natural gas pipelines. Those states’ policies have prevented Pennsylvania natural gas from reaching markets in New England, forcing those states to rely on LNG imports from foreign nations, including Russia, according to his office.

Likewise, Pennsylvania Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), chairman of the state House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said during the press conference that the Commonwealth’s bountiful natural resources also could provide affordable energy to American allies around the world.

“We must shut off the flow of Russian gas and oil that is enabling the Putin criminal war machine to slaughter the Ukrainian people,” said Metcalfe. “Wolf, Biden, and their comrades must stop their radical agenda of shutting down development of domestic oil and gas while they empower foreign nations through reliance on foreign energy.” 

State Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Bradford/Tioga/Potter), who proposed legislation to end Gov. Tom Wolf’s moratorium on subsurface leases of state land to boost production, agreed, saying it’s important to increase the supply of Pennsylvania energy to help stymie the Russian war effort in Eastern Europe.

“With 40 percent of Russia’s government financing coming from its oil and gas exports, we must realize that we are essentially funding this unjust, unprovoked and brutal attack on Ukraine,” Owlett said. “Freeing ourselves from dependence on Russia and investing our money in our own energy development is the best choice for freedom and democracy.”

State Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-Wayne/Susquehanna), who discussed legislation that would require the Delaware River Basin Commission to open the river basin to gas drilling and exploration, said the Russian atrocities in Ukraine “makes it so vividly clear that we need to focus on accessing domestic energy sources. Pennsylvania is blessed to sit atop an abundant amount of clean burning natural gas and we need to focus on getting that to market.”

Additionally, State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) outlined his bill to stop Pennsylvania’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which he says would disincentivize the use and production of Pennsylvania natural gas. 

During the press conference, Struzzi pointed out that the RGGI “will only prevent us from playing a major role in severing energy ties and reliance on Russia as we forge a path to energy independence.” 

House Majority Leader Benninghoff also noted the importance of divesting from Russian financial assets.

“Since we introduced our intention last week to divest Pennsylvania from Russian financial assets, I have been proud to work with the Treasury and our state pension systems as they have taken action themselves to carry out this function,” he said. “We are continuing to pursue this divestment legislation because it can provide these agencies with a legislatively sanctioned structure to continue with the task they have already undertaken.” 

Benninghoff said that the Commonwealth “has a moral obligation” to speak as a whole. “The treasurer and the pension systems have taken the first step, and we will legislatively take the final steps,” he said.

Other press conference attendees included State Reps. Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) and Greg Rothman (R-Cumberland).