Jul 20, 2016
Despite the widely-held belief that the Republican Party and the fossil fuel industry are natural allies, one of the world's most prominent fracking tycoons admitted Tuesday that, actually, his business has fared better under Democrats.
"The industry has actually historically done better under Democratic presidents during my 42 years, going back, than under Republican presidents," said Scott Sheffield, chairman and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, which runs an enormous oil drilling operation in West Texas' Permian Basin.
Sheffield went on to explain how from the time Democratic President Barack Obama took office in January 2009 to the crash of the oil market at the end of 2014, his business skyrocketed, with Pioneer stock reaching the fifth place on the S&P exchange and first in the industry market.
The remarks came in response to a question from a reporter with Inside Climate News during a CEO speaker session at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The reporter was asking Sheffield to comment on how important the 2016 presidential election is for the future of fossil fuel industry, and more specifically, the industry's tepid support for Republican Party nominee, Donald Trump.
"I think most of us would agree that [...] there are better candidates on each side," Sheffield said, referring to Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "That doesn't meant that either person [couldn't] end up doing a great job." The fossil fuel industry is "going to support whoever is president. Our goal is to educate them both on the importance of strong domestic oil and gas," which, he said, includes the need to grow the industry and access even more oil and gas deposits.
During his tenure as CEO, Sheffield bet heavily on the controversial use of fracking--shooting a toxic slurry into shale rock to release hard-to-reach oil deposits--which has flourished under Obama's "all-of-the-above" energy policy.
"Under his leadership, Pioneer helped transform the Texas Permian Basin from a minor producer of conventionally drilled oil and gas into one of the world's major players in shale-fracked petro products," the Dallas Morning Newsreported when Sheffield announced his pending retirement in May. According to Bloomberg, Pioneer holds the rights to 800,000 acres and over 20,000 drilling sites in the Permian Basin, which could hold as much as 10 billion barrels of crude oil.
Whether the Democratic Party will continue to support fracking has become a hot-button issue during this year's presidential campaign.
Despite ample evidence that the drilling process is a danger to human and environmental health, and is a substantial contributor to global warming, Clinton surrogates derailed an effort to include language supporting a national fracking ban in the party platform. On the eve of next week's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, a coalition of environmental, public health, and labor groups are preparing a massive "March for a Clean Energy Revolution" to pressure Clinton and party elites to take a more decisive stance against the fossil fuel industry in the general election.
Join Us: Everything is on the Line
The future of all that we cherish is on the line and we have to fight like hell to protect democracy, human decency, and a liveable planet. The last line of defense is people who understand what’s at stake—activists, writers, thinkers, doers, and everyday people who see what is happening, know in their hearts that a better world is possible, and are willing to fight for it. You are one of the good people Common Dreams was built for. We provide independent news, progressive opinion, and crucial analysis on the day’s most important issues. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. But to keep publishing and remain strong in these dangerous times, we need your support. So we’re asking you today: Will you donate to our Fall Campaign and keep the progressive, nonprofit journalism of Common Dreams alive? |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Despite the widely-held belief that the Republican Party and the fossil fuel industry are natural allies, one of the world's most prominent fracking tycoons admitted Tuesday that, actually, his business has fared better under Democrats.
"The industry has actually historically done better under Democratic presidents during my 42 years, going back, than under Republican presidents," said Scott Sheffield, chairman and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, which runs an enormous oil drilling operation in West Texas' Permian Basin.
Sheffield went on to explain how from the time Democratic President Barack Obama took office in January 2009 to the crash of the oil market at the end of 2014, his business skyrocketed, with Pioneer stock reaching the fifth place on the S&P exchange and first in the industry market.
The remarks came in response to a question from a reporter with Inside Climate News during a CEO speaker session at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The reporter was asking Sheffield to comment on how important the 2016 presidential election is for the future of fossil fuel industry, and more specifically, the industry's tepid support for Republican Party nominee, Donald Trump.
"I think most of us would agree that [...] there are better candidates on each side," Sheffield said, referring to Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "That doesn't meant that either person [couldn't] end up doing a great job." The fossil fuel industry is "going to support whoever is president. Our goal is to educate them both on the importance of strong domestic oil and gas," which, he said, includes the need to grow the industry and access even more oil and gas deposits.
During his tenure as CEO, Sheffield bet heavily on the controversial use of fracking--shooting a toxic slurry into shale rock to release hard-to-reach oil deposits--which has flourished under Obama's "all-of-the-above" energy policy.
"Under his leadership, Pioneer helped transform the Texas Permian Basin from a minor producer of conventionally drilled oil and gas into one of the world's major players in shale-fracked petro products," the Dallas Morning Newsreported when Sheffield announced his pending retirement in May. According to Bloomberg, Pioneer holds the rights to 800,000 acres and over 20,000 drilling sites in the Permian Basin, which could hold as much as 10 billion barrels of crude oil.
Whether the Democratic Party will continue to support fracking has become a hot-button issue during this year's presidential campaign.
Despite ample evidence that the drilling process is a danger to human and environmental health, and is a substantial contributor to global warming, Clinton surrogates derailed an effort to include language supporting a national fracking ban in the party platform. On the eve of next week's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, a coalition of environmental, public health, and labor groups are preparing a massive "March for a Clean Energy Revolution" to pressure Clinton and party elites to take a more decisive stance against the fossil fuel industry in the general election.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Despite the widely-held belief that the Republican Party and the fossil fuel industry are natural allies, one of the world's most prominent fracking tycoons admitted Tuesday that, actually, his business has fared better under Democrats.
"The industry has actually historically done better under Democratic presidents during my 42 years, going back, than under Republican presidents," said Scott Sheffield, chairman and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, which runs an enormous oil drilling operation in West Texas' Permian Basin.
Sheffield went on to explain how from the time Democratic President Barack Obama took office in January 2009 to the crash of the oil market at the end of 2014, his business skyrocketed, with Pioneer stock reaching the fifth place on the S&P exchange and first in the industry market.
The remarks came in response to a question from a reporter with Inside Climate News during a CEO speaker session at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The reporter was asking Sheffield to comment on how important the 2016 presidential election is for the future of fossil fuel industry, and more specifically, the industry's tepid support for Republican Party nominee, Donald Trump.
"I think most of us would agree that [...] there are better candidates on each side," Sheffield said, referring to Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. "That doesn't meant that either person [couldn't] end up doing a great job." The fossil fuel industry is "going to support whoever is president. Our goal is to educate them both on the importance of strong domestic oil and gas," which, he said, includes the need to grow the industry and access even more oil and gas deposits.
During his tenure as CEO, Sheffield bet heavily on the controversial use of fracking--shooting a toxic slurry into shale rock to release hard-to-reach oil deposits--which has flourished under Obama's "all-of-the-above" energy policy.
"Under his leadership, Pioneer helped transform the Texas Permian Basin from a minor producer of conventionally drilled oil and gas into one of the world's major players in shale-fracked petro products," the Dallas Morning Newsreported when Sheffield announced his pending retirement in May. According to Bloomberg, Pioneer holds the rights to 800,000 acres and over 20,000 drilling sites in the Permian Basin, which could hold as much as 10 billion barrels of crude oil.
Whether the Democratic Party will continue to support fracking has become a hot-button issue during this year's presidential campaign.
Despite ample evidence that the drilling process is a danger to human and environmental health, and is a substantial contributor to global warming, Clinton surrogates derailed an effort to include language supporting a national fracking ban in the party platform. On the eve of next week's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, a coalition of environmental, public health, and labor groups are preparing a massive "March for a Clean Energy Revolution" to pressure Clinton and party elites to take a more decisive stance against the fossil fuel industry in the general election.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.