Whether she will accept their invitation isn’t known,but Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a candidate who has vowed to stop fracking on the first day of her presidency has been asked by Oklahoma oil and gas leaders to meet with them when she returns to the state this weekend.
She will hold a town hall meeting on Sunday in Oklahoma City, a city where she was raised and attended high school. The Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, led by oilman Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources Inc. issued the invitation to Warren in a letter dated Dec. 18.
“We were listening when you and your fellow members of the Democrat party have repeatedly said you would order an end to domestic development and production of oil and natural gas in the first weeks of your administration,” wrote Hamm, a well-known supporter of President Donald Trump and his energy plans.
“That’s why, we’d like to invite you,while you’re here, to take a tour of the economic engine that is our industry, and introduce you to the people of Oklahoma Oil and Natural Gas who are changing the world for the better while protecting our way of life,” continued his letter.
Hamm attempted to persuade Warren, a candidate who supports the Green New Deal and pledged not to take money from the oil and gas industry, to change her stance by pointing out the contributions of oil and gas in Oklahoma.
He pointed out in the letter that one out of every four jobs in the state is tied directly to oil and natural gas and how the industry has contributed over $2 billion to education in the last decade in Oklahoma.
“Thanks to some of the most prolific oil and natural gas reservoirs in the world, Oklahoma has done its part to ensure American energy independence,” stated Hamm.
He went on to explain how natural gas has replaced coal as the fuel of choice in electricity production.
“CO2 emissions are at 25-year lows in the U.S., making us the envy of the industrialized world,” continued Hamm. “Our domestic energy resurgence is making America an energy and economic superpower. We are keeping hundreds of billions of dollars out of the hands of rogue regimes and corrupt kleptrocracies. Our balance of trade is the best it’s been in decades.”
He said the American Energy Renaissance is the “largest story in global energy since the discovery of oil in the middle east.”
Warren has boasted of being a cosponsor of the controversial Green New Deal in Congress. And she’s a big critic of oil and gas—so strong that the liklihood of her agreeing to meet with Hamm and other oil and gas leaders might be like a dry hole for the Producers Alliance.
“When it comes to climate change, our very existence is at stake. But Washington refuses to lift a finger without permission from the fossil fuel companies. That’s dangerous and it’s wrong,” stated her campaign website.
“Elizabeth was the first 2020 candidate to sign the No Fossil Fuel Pledge, committing to reject campaign contributions from oil, gas, and coal industries,” added the website. “For too long, Big Oil has been allowed to suck down billions of dollars in subsidies at the expense of the environment and working families. Elizabeth supports eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and using that money to invest in clean and renewable energy and infrastructure.”
She also has voiced her opposition to transmission gas and oil pipelines.
“Elizabeth opposes the Keystone XL, Dakota Access, and Line 3 pipelines because of the threat they pose to our public waters, lands, and agricultural areas, and because they cross areas important to several Tribal Nations without full Tribal consent. She has committed to revoke improperly granted permits for these pipelines and reject permitting of new projects where appropriate processes are not followed,” continued her website.
“She opposed lifting the 40-year-old ban on exporting crude oil and would prohibit future fossil fuel exports. Instead, she supports investments in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including distributed generation and clean energy technologies like solar and wind power.”
