Expert says U.S. can be leader in energy production

Producing and selling more oil and natural gas while developing cleaner methods is the direction the energy industry needs to go. That’s the recommendation given by Dr. Ken Morgan, keynote speaker at the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers meeting Wednesday at the Abilene Convention Center.

Morgan, director of the Energy Institute at Texas Christian University, has taught at TCU for 40 years and has spoken throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East on resource mapping and emerging energy markets.

“Energy defines a lot in our society. We better make it a good word and we better learn a lot about it,” he said.

Future generations will see a very different world, he said, explaining China, India and South America are on the rise, with Africa not far behind.

“We won’t be the leader in energy use, but hopefully we’ll be the leader in producing that energy,” he said.

Morgan said the U.S. purchases 9 million to 10 million barrels of oil per day. The country now exports 4 million to 5 million barrels of gasoline and diesel fuel per day, which is helping to correct the imbalance.

He said he sees creating even more exports as necessary in the future. To do that, domestic exploration will be the key.

Recent advances allowing oil to be extracted from shale formations are essential to that production. Problems exist, Morgan agreed, such as controversial fracking but they can be addressed and solved.

He cited Environmental Protection Agency reports in 2012 and 2017 that found no evidence that fracking activities had affected nearby water sources.

“If it did (affect water sources), I wouldn’t want to be part of that company,” he said.

Reported seismic activity related to fracking could be simply a case of poor location of the disposal wells.

“You put them on top of a fault, you’re just crossing your fingers,” he said. “If you pour liquids down there or pull fluids out of a fault, something may change.”

Morgan has recommended that the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates energy production in the state, require subsurface permits before such wells are placed.

He encouraged that natural gas become a major export product.

“If countries want it, why not sell it to them?” he said. “If we don’t use it ourselves, then let’s sell the stuff."

Alternative energy sources, such as wind farms, come with their own problems. Chief among them is the need for “rare earth” minerals in constructing wind turbines and electric cars.

Morgan said that 97 percent of these minerals come from China. In order to get them, entire mountains have to be leveled. The mining process produces more waste than it does usable minerals. Morgan said a ton of minerals produces a ton of radioactive theron, two tons of unusable rock and other materials, and air and water pollution.

“This is an environmental issue that’s not being looked into at all,” he said. “We can’t mine rare earths in this country because of all these problems. Congress and the EPA won’t allow it.”

Morgan ended his presentation by presenting ideas for future energy strategy. Among them are reducing the country’s energy needs; exporting more oil and gas products; selling energy to our nation’s friends, perhaps at a discount; and developing cleaner technologies and solutions.