Ep. 81 – “Wallet and Flag” – A Conversation with Mike Sommers

We had the great opportunity to visit with Mike Sommers, President and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API) in today's session. Founded over 100 years ago, the API represents all segments of America's oil and natural gas industry with over 600 current members. Their mission is to promote safety across the industry globally and to influence public policy in support of a strong, viable U.S. oil and natural gas industry. They are fighting hard in today's politically overcharged Washington DC - it was a real honor and pleasure to host Mike today.

Our discussion started with API's history and how they work with their members to advance policy at the federal and state level. We touched on a number of topics including U.S. energy independence, the shale revolution, API's Environmental Partnership Program, their Climate Action Framework to advance new technologies, coal to gas switching, the frequently undiscussed cost benefit analysis framework in GHG reduction, and much much more. It was a passionate, candid and informative discussion and we want to thank Mike and his team for their time and commitment to educating our elected representatives.

The TPH crew kicked off the conversation: Mike Bradley took a look at rising European power prices and implications ahead of the UN Climate Conference in November. Matt Portillo echoed Mike's comments and turned it over to Matthew Blair who shared a few key points from TPH Research's recent "RNG 101" report.