Hoeven Advancing Efforts to Bolster U.S. Domestic Energy Production, Bring Down Energy Prices & Inflation

Senator Co-Chairs Senate Hearing on Energy Prices, Invited NDPSC Chair Julie Fedorchak & NDPC President Ron Ness as Witnesses

WASHINGTON – At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Energy Subcommittee hearing that he co-chaired today, Senator John Hoeven outlined his efforts to bolster U.S. domestic energy production, which is needed to provide relief to American consumers by bringing down energy prices and reducing inflation, while also improving the reliability of the electrical grid. To this end, the senator is working to:

Push back on the Biden administration’s harmful energy agenda, provide regulatory relief to reduce the burden of federal rules on energy producers and advance legislation to increase U.S. oil and natural gas production, including his:
- American Energy Independence from Russia Act.
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Mineral Spacing Act.
Support the development of innovative technologies, like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), to enable the U.S. to continue utilizing all of its energy resources, including coal, while reducing emissions.

Hoeven discussed these priorities with the hearing witnesses, including North Dakota Public Service (NDPSC) Chair Julie Fedorchak and North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) President Ron Ness. The senator invited Fedorchak and Ness to give expert testimony to the committee, highlight the burdens imposed by the Biden administration on energy producers and help make the case for unlocking America’s energy potential.

“Skyrocketing inflation and higher energy costs hit every American, every day. But more than that, significant parts of our nation face increased risk of blackouts and brownouts due to loss of baseload power, like coal-fired electric,” said Hoeven. “That’s why we need the Biden administration to reverse course on its harmful energy agenda and work with us to empower the U.S. to produce more energy with better environmental stewardship, like we’re doing in my home state. North Dakota is an energy powerhouse for our nation, and in their respective roles, Julie Fedorchak and Ron Ness have played an important part in making that possible. I appreciate their willingness to discuss these critical issues with our committee and look forward to our continued work together to restore American energy independence.”

Empowering U.S. Oil & Gas Production

Hoeven is advancing bills like his American Energy Independence from Russia Act, which would take immediate action to increase U.S. energy production, including:

Authorizing the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Removing regulatory hurdles to increase liquefied natural gas exports.
Prohibiting any presidential moratoria on new energy leases.
Requiring the U.S. Department of the Interior to hold a minimum of 4 oil and natural gas lease sales in each state with land available for leasing in fiscal year 2022.
Prohibiting the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy from drawdowns of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until the Secretary of the Interior issues a plan to increase oil and gas production on federal lands and waters.

At the same time, Hoeven, along with Senator Kevin Cramer, recently reintroduced the BLM Mineral Spacing Act to streamline and improve the permitting process for energy development. Hoeven’s legislation removes the BLM permitting requirement in instances when the federal government owns less than half of the subsurface minerals within a drilling spacing unit and have no surface rights in the impacted area. Doing so would eliminate duplicative regulations, better respect the rights of private mineral holders and empower greater domestic oil and natural gas production.

Securing the Future of Coal-Fired Electric

Hoeven has worked for nearly 15 years to position North Dakota to lead the way in CCUS. His efforts include:

As governor, creating a regulatory framework for carbon storage when:
- He established the North Dakota CO₂Storage Workgroup in 2008.
- He advanced a bill through the legislature to grant this authority to the North Dakota Industrial Commission.
- The state enacted legislation that granted ownership of the pore space to the owner of the overlying surface estate.
As U.S. Senator, securing approval of the state’s application for regulatory primacy over the use of Class VI wells for geologic storage of CO₂.
- North Dakota is one of only two states to have this regulatory authority.
Working to implement and enhance the 45Q tax credit, one of the most important incentives to make CCUS projects commercially-viable.

Funding critical loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Securing front end investment in technology development, like Project Tundra.

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