Energy projects benefit local communities through jobs, tax revenue and economic spinoffs
Time to build.
It’s the theme of Infrastructure Week, which runs today through Friday across the United States.
And while it applies to planes, trains and automobiles, it’s critically important for the energy industry, too.
A recent study commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API) suggests that new U.S. oil and gas infrastructure could create a million jobs, and add as much as US$1.89 trillion to the American Gross Domestic Product (GDP), by 2035.
The API also pegs capital expenditures on U.S. oil and gas infrastructure at more than a trillion dollars between now and 2035, with just under half of that total fairly equally split between oil and natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGL) accounting for another 5 to 6 percent.
Clearly, a massive opportunity.
“We’ve never been better positioned in what I like to call a true North American competitive advantage in energy,” Enbridge Inc. President and CEO Al Monaco recently told a panel at CERAWeek. “Our ability to realize that advantage rests on being able to build the infrastructure we need.
“A case in point is the U.S. Northeast. Despite the proximity to some of the largest natural gas plays, it continues to be the highest-priced end use gas and power market in the country.”
With key leaders and notable speakers from American business, labor and government, and 70 associated events across the U.S., Infrastructure Week highlights the critical role that infrastructure—whether it’s roads, bridges, rail, ports, airports, water and sewer systems, technology, the power grid and more—plays in the American economy.
Enbridge also believes it’s time to build.
The recent merger of Enbridge and Spectra Energy Corp has transformed Enbridge into North America’s biggest energy infrastructure company—and we’re executing an industry-leading growth program, with US$20 billion in secured projects and another US$35 billion in development.
These projects, either under construction or regulatory review, benefit local communities through tax revenue, well-paying jobs, and procurement of goods and services. Our projects include:
- The NEXUS Gas Transmission Project, which will provide 6,858 jobs, $662 million in wages, $412 million in local tax revenues, and $125 million to local school districts in Ohio;
- The Sabal Trail Transmission Project, which has generated over 5,700 construction jobs, $125 million in local economic construction output, and more than 100 community investment projects in Alabama, Georgia and Florida;
- The Valley Crossing Pipeline Project, which will provide 3,504 jobs, $463 million in wages, and about $183 million in long-term tax revenue in South Texas; and
- The crude oil Line 3 Replacement (L3R) Project, which will generate about 1,500 construction jobs in Minnesota and provide a $1.2-billion boost to the U.S. economy during the design and construction phases.
“These jobs, tax revenues and economic spinoffs are all from private-sector investment—no tax dollars required,” notes Bill Yardley, Enbridge’s President of Gas Transmission and Midstream. “Along those lines, we and others in the industry are hoping to see regulatory reforms that yield a more timely and predictable permitting process for this needed energy infrastructure.”
Enbridge is on track to bring US$9.5 billion worth of projects into service this year, and another $2.9 billion in 2018.
