In a call with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, Senator John Hoeven continued his push to secure federal support for the nation’s energy producers. In their conversation, Brouillette indicated to the senator that work continues on aid for the oil and gas industry. Hoeven and Secretary Brouillette are also working to get the Treasury Department to issue the final regulations for the 45Q tax credit as soon as possible in order to provide certainty to the coal industry as it develops carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, like Project Tundra.
As a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the senator has been working with the administration and his colleagues to ensure oil and gas producers, which are critical to national and economic security, can weather the supply and demand challenges they face due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and excessive production by OPEC+. Prior to this, Hoeven led a group of his colleagues in urging Brouillette, as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, to ensure access to credit for producers through the 13(3) lending program, part of the senator’s overall effort to maintain the nation’s oil and gas production capacity.
“We’ve been working closely with Secretary Brouillette, Secretary Mnuchin and Chair Powell to ensure the 13(3) lending program can work for our oil and gas producers, and today’s call was another opportunity to move this and our other priorities forward, like finalizing the 45Q tax credit,” said Hoeven. “Robust domestic energy production benefits our nation in a wide variety of ways. The support we’ve worked to provide and continue to advance, including funding for the PPP and SPR, access to credit, an anti-dumping investigation and getting our economy moving again, is critical to supporting this key part of our economy.”
SUPPORT FOR OIL & GAS INDUSTRY
Hoeven’s plan to support oil and gas producers includes:
- PPP Funding – Replenishing funding for the Paycheck Protection Program to provide assistance to smaller companies.
- Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Funding – Leading bipartisan, bicameral legislation to provide $3 billion to purchase domestic oil for the SPR.
- Ensuring Access to Credit – Working with the Administration, including Secretary Brouillette, Secretary Mnuchin and Chair Powell, to provide independent producers with access to credit under the 13(3) lending program.
- Stopping Foreign Crude Dumping – Investigating Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil-producing countries for flooding the market under Section 232 to stop crude dumping and address oversupply issues.
- Opening the Economy – Defeating COVID-19 and safely getting the economy going again.
FINALIZING 45Q TAX CREDIT
Hoeven previously supported legislation to reform and expand the 45Q tax credit, which will help make CCUS projects more commercially-viable. Following this, the senator:
- Worked with the administration to advance the first two pieces of key guidance on the implementation of the 45Q tax credit.
- Continues urging the administration to issue the third and final piece of the 45Q rules as soon as possible.
- Is pressing to ensure the tax credit works for both long-term storage and enhanced oil and gas recovery, similar to his CO2 Regulatory Certainty Act.
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