American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021 - 16

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IndustryDigest
from obtaining any compensation for
any oil and gas operators' use of their
pore space estate, whether reasonable or
unreasonable, whether at large or small
volumes, whether at a large financial
detriment or small financial detriment.
These provisions act as an absolute bar
to not just money damages, but to all
other meaningful remedies, including

trespass, nuisance or other torts. The
three provisions at issue here render the
pore space worthless in every instance
of its application, and (SB 2344) is
unconstitutional on its face. "
Press accounts note that the North
Dakota Petroleum Council, which
backed SB 2344, disagrees with the
court's interpretation, and predicts that

EIA Report Predicts More U.S. Hydrocarbon
Output Through 2050 Horizon
WASHINGTON-Contrary to the
notion of impending " peak "
hydrocarbon supply and demand, the
U.S. Energy Information
Administration's Annual Energy
Outlook 2021 predicts that U.S. oil
and gas output will bounce back to
pre-COVID levels over the next
couple years. In the out years, EIA
predicts, natural gas production will
continue to climb into the
foreseeable future, while oil output
looks to remain fairly stable for the
same period.
After falling over the past year, the
agency's long-range forecast shows a
robust rebound in domestic shale gas,
tight oil and associated gas
production. Specifically, EIA projects
that U.S. oil production will return to
13 million barrels a day by 2023, and
that natural gas output will return to
levels preceding the COVID-19
pandemic by 2024. The report predicts
gas will climb through the end of the
forecast period in 2050.
According to EIA, U.S.
hydrocarbon demand will continue to
fall short of pre-COVID levels until
2029, which places much of the
agency's forecasted near-term demand

growth in U.S. oil and gas exports.
The AEO charts significant export
volumes for crude oil and liquefied
natural gas over the forecast period.
Ultimately, the report indicates, oil
and gas will continue to serve as the
backbone of the U.S. energy mix
through the end of the 29-year
forecast range, even amid huge
projected growth in renewable
capacity. In fact, EIA says that in the
year 2050, the U.S. market will be
consuming some 39 quadrillion Btu of
oil and 37 quadrillion Btu of natural
gas, compared with 17 quadrillion Btu
of renewables.
EIA reports that U.S. oil production
fell from more than 13.0 MMbbl/d in
March 2020 to 10.9 MMbbl/d in
January 2021, and says it expects
output to continue to slip before
bottoming out later this year. From
that future low point, the agency's
forecast would require the country to
add some 2.3 MMbbl/d-2.5 MMbbl/d
over the course of 2022 and 2023. To
put that into perspective, EIA data
show that total oil output in the
Permian Basin region grew by 2.6
MMbbl/d in the three years from
January 2017 to January 2020.❒

Energy Production by Source
AEO2021 Reference Case
2020
history

45

projections

40

dry natural
gas
crude oil and
lease
condensate

35
30

other
renewable
energy
coal
natural gas
plant liquids
nuclear
hydro

25
20
15
10
5
2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

16 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

2020

35

petroleum
and other
liquids
natural
gas

30

coal

25

other
renewable
energy

45
quadrillion British thermal units

quadrillion British thermal units

50

0
1990

Energy Consumption by Fuel
AEO2021 Reference Case
history

40

projections

20
15
10

nuclear
hydro
liquid
biofules

5
0
1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

January's ruling will not be the final
word. " No matter how the court ruled,
we expected one side to be
disappointed, " NPDC President Ron
Ness is quoted. " We expect to see an
appeal; there will be more to come. " ❒

IOGA Taps Stewart
As Top Staff Member
MT. VERNON, IL.-The Illinois Oil
and Gas Association has hired Robert
Stewart as its new executive vice
president. Stewart began his
employment with IOGA on Feb. 1.
According to the association, the oil
industry is a family tradition for
Stewart,
whose
grandfather,
Edward
Stewart,
started in the
1890s. His
current
company,
Stewart
Producers,
was
established in
1951 by
ROBERT STEWART
Stewart's
father as an operating company for
Stewart Oil. It expanded into well
servicing in 1966 and got into
exploration after Stewart Oil dissolved
in 1968.
" I have been on the IOGA Board of
Directors for 25 years, " Stewart relates.
" I am looking forward to expanding my
relationship with IOGA in this new role
and continuing to help IOGA advocate
for our members. "
Stewart received the IOGA
Petroleum Professional of the Year
Award in 2019, and Stewart Producers
Inc. was named IOGA Wildcatter of the
Year in 2016.
" Robert has been a great asset to our
association throughout the years, "
affirms IOGA President Bryan Hood,
" He always brings forward great ideas
and viewpoints to issues. "
Stewart also has served on several
other industry boards, including those
for the Society of Petroleum Engineers,
American Association of Petroleum
Geologists, State of Illinois Petroleum
Advisory Board, and the Petroleum
Technology Transfer Council. ❒
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2021

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