ERIE, Pa. — Grilled chicken breast, baby tomatoes and couscous were served for lunch at the 2024 Shale Insight Conference this week.
So did Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.
For three days, oil and gas workers from Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia gathered in Erie to network and discuss the future of the industry, from new drilling techniques to geopolitics.
The senator and his Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, were here Thursday in the heart of northwestern Pennsylvania to make a pitch for the hydraulic fracturing industry, which is vital to the battleground state's economy.
A series of recent polls have shown Mr. McCormick closing in on Mr. Casey. A Monmouth University poll released Friday found Democrats only have a 4-point lead among registered voters.
While Mr. McCormick came in person to share his vision of energy domination, Mr. Casey showed his face via pre-recorded video.
There was no contest among industry executives.
“If you don't have a seat at the table, it's on the menu. And McCormick just flattened him,” attendee Jim Milleson told the Post.
Milleson, president of the Ohio Valley Energy Association, is a Democrat and said he would vote for Casey if he lived in Pennsylvania.
Still, the absent senators showed no favoritism toward Fracker this week.
“It was a shame that Casey didn't show up,” he added.
In his on-screen speech, Casey paid lip service to the oil and natural gas industry, which creates high-wage jobs and promotes America's energy independence.
He also highlighted tax credits aimed at encouraging the energy industry to expand into natural gas and coal mining areas, and called on the Biden-Harris administration to expand hydrogen production tax credits.
“I will continue to lobby the government strongly until they resolve this issue,” Mr Casey said.
But the video ended without applause, and participants told the Post they were not moved by the message or the medium.
“I saw his speech and support for the industry as largely superficial,” said Nick Hannan, an oil and gas rig designer in central Pennsylvania.
He admitted that he hadn't thought highly of Casey until then.
“He didn't seem real. He was definitely reading a book. He was rocking back and forth,” said Kurt Brooks, an oil and gas marketer in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. said.
Milleson suspects that Casey sent the video assuming attendees wouldn't vote for him in the first place.
“You can't make change if you're not willing to participate. He said the right thing, but the message wasn't received.”
Meanwhile, McCormick came out in full force Thursday, introducing himself to the audience as an Iraq war veteran with a distinguished career spanning government and the private sector.
He proudly stepped onto the podium.
“I had a chance to see Senator Casey make the call, and I'm glad to see him working on the energy transition,” he told the several hundred people in attendance. .
“Please don't believe me.”
McCormick also revived Vice President Kamala Harris' past pledge to ban hydraulic fracturing, which uses water, sand and chemicals to extract oil and gas from underground rock formations.
Pennsylvania is the second largest natural gas producer in the United States after Texas. Hydraulic fracturing supported approximately 123,000 jobs in the Keystone State and drove $41 billion in economic activity in 2022.
The strongman, who is vying for Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes this November, now says he has no intention of banning the difficult practice.
And while oil production under the Biden-Harris administration has finally exceeded production under former President Donald Trump, the administration has shut down the Keystone XL pipeline and suspended exports of liquefied natural gas to overseas markets. and added fuel to Mr. McCormick's fire.
“Casey endorsed this travesty,” McCormick said, citing record voting numbers for Democratic incumbents in the Biden-Harris administration.
Mr. McCormick laid out a bold energy plan, including cutting regulations and reform permits, supporting nuclear power alongside natural gas, restoring clean energy supply chains, and increasing cross-border energy flows.
“America, led by Pennsylvania, must become the most energy-dominant nation in the world,” he declared. “North America can and should become an energy powerhouse that can compete head-to-head with OPEC.”
Just as it began, Mr. McCormick's speech ended with thunderous applause.
“It was like a sports team playing in their home stadium,” Milleson said.
