Hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee - Opening Statement of Sen. Murkowski, Hearing on Examine the Domestic and Global Energy Outlook

Hearing

Good morning, everyone. The Committee will come to order as we begin our first hearing in what promises to be a very busy 2018.

I'd like to provide specific welcome this morning to our new member, Senator Smith. It is good to have you as part of the Committee, I think you will find that this is a committee that does good work; we like to focus on policy and we like to do things in a bipartisan way every now and again. So looking to start the new year off with that good foot. We don't have Senator Capito with us this morning, but she is also returning our committee, and we look forward to welcoming her and her ongoing contributions.

We do have a lot on our agenda today. Our broad bipartisan energy and natural resources bill, we're looking forward to continuing that as the year progresses; our efforts to increase our nation's mineral security. Our need to wildfire funding fix paired with forestry management. Park maintenance backlog, energy innovation, electric reliability, islands and territories, and a wide array of public lands legislation. Those are just a few of the things we have on deck for this new year.

We will have a lighter crew this morning, as many members are still returning to Washington, DC ahead of this evening's vote. But I truly thank you, Dr. Birol, for your attendance this morning. I think as I mentioned to you, we look to the IEA for its guidance, for its forecast, for better understanding of what is happening around the world. And so you being here this morning to help set the stage for this year and provide your agency's perspective on the domestic and global energy outlook is greatly, greatly appreciated.

The good work done by the IEA helps to identify market trends and provides valuable information to guide policy decisions, both here in the United States and around the world. IEA's insight and analysis helps us move our policies in the right direction. In turn, our work helps the IEA with its core mission: promoting energy security, cooperation, and stable markets.

We cannot emphasize too strongly how significantly the role of the United States has evolved in recent years. As Dr. Birol notes in his prepared statement, "the United States has become the undisputed global oil and gas leader." During my time here on the committee both as ranking member and as chair, we have gone from discussing the need to site LNG import terminals all along our coasts to now expediting LNG export terminals. And we have gone from lamenting our reliance on foreign oil, and the steep price of that oil, to the United States being the world's swing producer in an era of abundant energy.

Technology innovation and the shale revolution have led the way and the administration is working hard to reduce barriers to energy development. Allowing for increased exploration and production in the United States--as we did at the end of last year, with the opening of Alaska's 1002 Area--will provide for our long-term security and allow us to extend our influence in world markets.

At the same time, we know that these markets are cyclical, and that prices could rise substantially in the future if we do not take proactive steps to spur investment and supply. Just last March, the IEA warned that global oil supply could lag after 2020, if new investments are not made in the near term. That is a warning for all of us. I know the IEA has continued to conduct significant research on this matter and look forward to delving deeper into it here today.

Although the IEA was established on the premise of cooperative oil security, the agency has also evolved and expanded its mission to cover a wide range of energy-related topics. These include energy efficiency, the digitalization of energy, and one that I am particularly interested in--cost reductions in renewable technologies, which portend major shifts in how we generate and use energy.

Our committee has examined these topics largely through a domestic lens, so today we have the benefit of an international perspective, a broader view that ties together world trends and events, and we certainly look forward to it.

Dr. Birol, thank you again for being here to testify. We know that your schedule is quite busy when you travel from Paris and we appreciate your willingness to share your expertise and the work of the IEA with our committee.

With that, I will now turn to Senator Cantwell for her opening statement.

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