American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015 - 19

percent of all assets held by state and
local government employee pension
systems. It adds that on average, $1.00
invested in U.S. oil and natural gas
stocks by the two largest plans in each
of those 17 states in FY 2005 was worth
$2.30 in FY 2013. By contrast, the same
amount invested in FY 2005 in all other
assets was worth an average of $1.68 in
FY 2013.
The level and extent of the funds'
investments in domestic oil and gas
assets vary greatly across the 17 states,
the report says. It cites South Carolina
and New York as examples, saying in
the former, the two largest plans had 1.6
percent of their total holdings in those
companies, while oil and gas
represented 5.0 percent of total New
York holdings.
The study is available through the
API website, www.api.org. ❒

Shale Boom Boosting
U.S. Plastics Industry

WASHINGTON-Plentiful and
affordable natural gas and natural gas
liquids from shale formations will help
U.S. jobs related to plastics
manufacturing increase by 462,000 over
the next decade, reaching more than 2.7
million, a report from the American
Chemistry Council projects.
The Rising Competitive Advantage of
U.S. Plastics finds that shale gas
production has reversed the fortunes of
the plastics industry, shifting the
competitive advantage to the United
States, where it says producers mostly
use raw materials derived from natural
gas. In other regions, the report points
out plastics makers mainly used oilbased feedstocks.
"A decade ago, the United States
was among the highest-cost plastics
producers," says Steve Russell, ACC's
vice president of plastics. "Today,
America is one of the most attractive
places in the world to invest in plastics
manufacturing. Even after recent
declines in oil prices, our nation has a
decisive edge."
ACC says its report finds that the
domestic plastics industry could
experience investments of nearly $47
billion in new capacity to produce
plastics material and products, which are
expected to create hundreds of thousands
of permanent jobs across the supply
chain during the next decade. In addition,
the report projects nearly 97,000
temporary jobs will be created during the
peak of the construction phase.
In addition, net exports of plastics will

triple between 2014 and 2030, growing
from $6.5 billion to $21.5 billion, a report
by Nexant Consulting forecasts.
"This substantial investment in new
capacity is creating more high-paying
jobs in the United States in this high-tech
industry," Russell says. "Plastics
materials makers pay workers on average
nearly $85,000, which is more than 73
percent higher than the average wage for
workers across U.S. industries.
Companies are 'reshoring' jobs to the
United States as new manufacturing is
increasingly being located here at home."
The report is available through the
council's website,
www.americanchemistry.com. ❒

EPA's GHG Inventory
Shows Drop In Methane

WASHINGTON-U.S. natural gas
producers have reduced methane
emissions from their facilities by 38
percent since 2005, while processing
emissions have jumped the same
amount, and emissions from gas
transmission and storage sources have
climbed 11 percent, according to a U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency report.
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory
Report: 1990-2013 also points out
methane emissions from hydraulically
fractured natural gas wells are down 79
percent since 2005. U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions totaled 6.67 billion metric
tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in
2013. Since 1990, the agency says,
domestic emissions have increased at an
average annual rate of 0.3 percent.
"The inventory shows U.S.
producers continue to make dramatic
improvements," responds Howard J.
Feldman, senior director of regulatory
and scientific affairs for the American
Petroleum Institute. "These voluntary
efforts will continue as operators work
to capture more gas and deliver it to
consumers."
Feldman adds that any new layers of
burdensome regulations will only
interfere with that progress.
According to EPA, U.S. GHG
emissions increased by 2.0 percent from
2012 to 2013. The agency says the
increase came because of increased
energy consumption across all sectors
of the domestic economy, greater use of
coal to generate electricity, increased
miles traveled by on-road vehicles,
more industrial production, and year-toyear changes in the prevailing weather.
This year's inventory includes key
information in an online GHG inventory
data explorer tool, which the agency
JUNE 2015 19
American Oil and Gas Reporter - June 2015

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