PRINTER'S NO. 1255
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
214
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF, RESCHENTHALER AND VULAKOVICH,
OCTOBER 17, 2017
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, OCTOBER 17, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Urging Pennsylvania natural gas producers to export natural gas
to European countries in an effort to curtail the natural gas
monopoly that Russia has on the region.
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is fortunate to
have one of the most abundant and diverse mineral resource
fields in the world, including the Marcellus Shale natural gas
reserves; and
WHEREAS, According to the Department of Community and
Economic Development, Pennsylvania is the second-largest natural
gas producer in the nation, and our production has increased
more than 2,400% in the past five years; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Environmental Protection's Oil and
Gas Annual Report for 2016 showed that a record level (about 5.1
trillion cubic feet) of natural gas was produced in
Pennsylvania, up nearly 11% from the previous year; and
WHEREAS, A study released in March 2017 by IHS Markit
regarding enhancing Pennsylvania's opportunities in the
petrochemical and plastic industries stated: "In 2015, the
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natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica Shale accounted for a
quarter of all natural gas produced in the United States and is
expected to account for more than 40% on the nation's natural
gas production by 2030"; and
WHEREAS, According to the United States Energy Information
Administration (EIA), Pennsylvania ranked among the top three
net energy suppliers in the United States; and
WHEREAS, EIA's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook projects that
the United States will become a net exporter of natural gas in
2017 and further states: "Abundant natural gas resources and
large production increases have created opportunities for U.S.
natural gas exports"; and
WHEREAS, A 2017 Gas Market Report (Analysis and Forecasts to
2022) from the International Energy Agency (IEA) notes that the
"United States, the world's largest gas producer, will increase
production more than any other country over the next five years,
accounting for almost 40% of global output growth"; and
WHEREAS, Natural gas exports play an important geopolitical
role; and
WHEREAS, Russia has been the dominant provider of liquefied
natural gas (LNG) to European countries, and much of the LNG
these countries use flows through pipelines that cross Ukraine;
and
WHEREAS, According to The European Union 2014 Review issued
by IEA, countries including Bulgaria, the Baltic states, Finland
and the Slovak Republic "depend as much as 100% on gas imports
from Russia as the single supplier"; and
WHEREAS, Russia has demonstrated on a number of occasions its
power as a dominant natural gas supplier by shutting off natural
gas to Ukraine, thus threatening the energy security of these
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countries and prompting efforts to diversify LNG sources; and
WHEREAS, Exports from the United States would help to reduce
dependence on Russian gas, weakening Russia's ability to use
energy as a weapon; and
WHEREAS, Exports from the United States would help to make
the natural gas market more global and competitive; and
WHEREAS, In 2016, the first United States LNG export terminal
was opened and began shipping gas overseas; and
WHEREAS, Additional LNG terminals are planned within the next
several years; and
WHEREAS, Based on construction of these export terminals, the
EIA projects that the United States will have the third-largest
LNG export capacity in the world by 2020; and
WHEREAS, In June 2017, the United States delivered its first
Central European LNG shipment, which arrived in Poland; and
WHEREAS, During a visit to Warsaw, Poland, in July 2017 to
attend a meeting of the Three Seas Initiative, an effort by 12
Central and Eastern European nations to increase trade,
infrastructure and energy ties, President Donald Trump remarked:
"We are committed to securing your access to alternative sources
of energy, so Poland and its neighbors are never again held
hostage to a single supplier of energy"; and
WHEREAS, Now that Pennsylvania and the nation have an
abundant supply of natural gas and the capacity to export it, we
can help Central and Eastern Europe reduce their reliance on
Russia while at the same time improving our own domestic
economy; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
urge Pennsylvania natural gas producers to export natural gas to
European countries in an effort to curtail the natural gas
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monopoly that Russia has on the region; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States, the presiding officers of
each house of Congress, each member of Congress from
Pennsylvania, the Marcellus Shale Coalition and the Secretary of
Community and Economic Development.
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