Yossie at Hudson: Natural gas can help U.S., China economies
Fuel Freedom Foundation chairman Yossie Hollander delivered the keynote address Nov. 16 at a discussion hosted by the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., called “U.S.-China Energy Cooperation: Risks, Opportunities, and Solutions.”
Hollander said China and the United States share a need to keep growing economically, but that growth is inextricably tied to oil, which both nations must import:
“One of the best indicators of growth is the price of oil. So throughout history, most economic crises have started with a spike in oil prices. And we cannot ignore that.”
One solution to oil dependence is to use more abundant, cheap natural gas, which can be processed into a liquid fuel to power light-duty vehicles.
“What most people don’t notice when they talk about the shale revolution in the context of the U.S. … they look at it as an oil revolution. It is not. Every hole that you dig in the ground in the U.S. has more natural gas and natural gas liquids coming out of it than oil. The result is catastrophic price collapse of those commodities.”
Although China was the subject at hand, the terror attacks in Paris that had occurred only three days earlier were addressed as well, in the context of the global economy. Hollander said:
“We cannot afford an unstable environment, and the environment is getting more and more unstable. And China and the United States are not interested in an unstable environment; they’re interested in a stable environment. And unless we can stabilize the Islamist, oil-funded environment that we have in the world, the world economy is not going to grow in the pace that we need it to.”
“The question is, is it only a military issue here? I think the issue is really to eliminate the Islamic ideology here. Because that drives most of the conflicts around the world today. The only way to do it, I believe, is to de-fund it. And the way to de-fund it is to keep the pressure on oil prices.
“Now, of course, the low price of oil is something we all say, ‘Oh, OK, problem is solved. The price of oil is low. I don’t know … have you lived in the world in the last 40, 50 years? There were days that the price of oil was low, and there were days that the price of oil was high. And there will always be a spike.
“If everybody thinks, if ISIS is going to be put against the wall when we try to eliminate them and they will not blow up some oil infrastructure, I think you’re living in a dream. They might blow it anyway. Because if you’re actually looking for logic in what they do, good luck.”
Watch the whole presentation below. Hollander’s keynote starts about the 13-minute mark.
