A blog post caught my eye last week and is worth of discussion. Oilpro.com is kind of the LinkedIn of the over 500,000 directly employed by the oil industry (and growing to 757,000 by 2025 according to IHS, by the way).
The headline question read: What is the single biggest challenge facing the oil and gas industry today?
The answer wasn’t discovering a green frac fluid, or keeping prairie chickens and other cute little critters out of harms way from oil extraction in western Kansas. Nor was it earthquakes, Obama or China.
The answer is best expressed by a respondent himself, Paul Matheny: “I think one of the biggest challenges is in the area of PR. The oil and gas industry has not done a good job at communicating its message to the public at large. We can blame environmentalists all we want to, but the industry needs to step up its game in communicating the truth of what it's doing….Regardless of how the industry is making progress in terms of the environment and other issues, if it does not have the ability to effectively communicate what it's doing, this progress is pointless from a PR perspective.”
Well said Paul, and those of us over at Powering America Radio would heartily agree. That’s why Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Energy is so aggressive in communicating the message. Not only does his company sponsor our show, but Chris travels around the world telling about anyone who will listen that fracking is literally saving the economic standard that we’ve come to take for granted, without having to rely on foreign nations who hate our guts to fuel it.
It’s why Parker Hallam, President of Crude Energy and our other sponsor, uses his website as a vehicle to create (as Parker likes to say) “uber friendly” inforgraphics like this one to show the public what fracking is really all about. And why he does his own widely-downloaded podcast called “Oil and Gas Report”, which you can subscribe to yourself here.
And talk about the social media queen. Check out Jessica Sena at @mtpetroleum on Twitter. Her posts are real, down to earth, and from the perspective of a 20-something, whose generation will soon be taking over this mess. Jessica ‘gets it’ and that’s why she’s a frequent contributor to our show. She sees only opportunity and that American ingenuity and the same fortitude that got us where we are as a nation will lead us forward stronger than ever.
And that’s why we’re here on TownHall. To engage you in the conversation as well. Please be sure to leave comments and check out our show on the Wall Street Business Network, iTunes, iHeartRadio.com, or on our website.
Paul, we’re certainly doing our part and invite all those in the industry, or those not in the industry but interested in America’s Energy Freedom, to join us with your support and encouragement.
Powering America is heard daily on the Wall Street Business Network at 4:00 Eastern and is co-sponsored by Crude Energy, LLC and Breitling Energy Corporation.