Notable op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal by BRT-member CEO James J. Mulva, chairman and chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, "Natural Gas Can Put Americans Back to Work," with the sub-headline, "The natural gas and oil industry already sustains 2.2 million jobs and can add 1.5 million new ones."

Mulva writes:

Even after 103,000 jobs were added during September, unemployment remains at 9.1%. Counting those who have given up the job search or accepted a part-time job, economists calculate actual unemployment at a staggering 16.5%. Where will the growth come from that can help get people back to work?

One source is the natural gas industry, which is already generating jobs by the thousands, all without government subsidy. And it can generate even more, if we unleash this resource's full potential.

To encourage investment and hiring in the oil and gas industry, he recommends these policy prescriptions.

• Governments must stop singling out the oil and natural gas industry for tax increases. Its effective global tax rates already far exceed those of other industries.
• When considering new natural gas regulations, government should first assess the adequacy and enforcement of the thousands of existing federal, state and local regulations that already govern production. Duplicative or conflicting requirements add little protection but needlessly increase costs and further stifle the economy.
• Government must open new areas to exploration, while ensuring sound environmental stewardship.

Mulva also counsels against government mandates of renewable energy sources, arguing, "Rather than favoring particular technologies, governments should focus exclusively on setting environmental objectives and allow markets to innovate and select the most environmentally and economically effective sources based on their merits."

Jobs will continue to be the dominant political issue through the 2012 elections, and candidates would do well to consider the energy sector as key source of new private-sector hiring. Natural gas, now booming thanks to the development of shale gas via hydrofracking and horizontal drilling, must certainly be part of that debate.

Elsewhere on the energy front:

• Reuters, "Cheniere and BG ink $8 billion deal to export U.S. LNG." How times changes. After Hurricane Katrina and last decade's volatility of natural gas prices, the talk was of developing more LNG terminals to import liquefied natural gas into the United States.
• Youngstown (Pa.) Vindicator, "Fracking study: Little fouling of water": "A new study commissioned by Pennsylvania State University says a process used to mine oil and natural gas does not significantly contaminate drinking water."
• Associated Press, "Barnett Shale drilling wanes, booms elsewhere." Other Texas fields offer more potential for oil and other developments, and then there's this: "Also, restrictive local regulations has discouraged further drilling in the North Texas field, said Julie Wilson, vice president for urban development for Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy, the Barnett's drilling leader"
• Minot, N.D.-based Say Anything Blog, "If North Dakota Doesn’t Want The Oil Boom, Other States Will Be Glad To Grab It." CNNMoney just went through the state, oddly choosing to focus on the downside of the oil boom. Prosperity can be disruptive, no doubt.
• On the other hand, the hydrofracking-enabled boom in the Bakken Shale stands to revive Norwegian emigration to the Upper Great Plains, as Bloomberg reports, "Statoil Buys Brigham Exploration for $4.4 Billion Cash to Gain Oil Shale." The locals do see the purchase of North Dakota drilling territory by the Norwegian state-owned oil company through a cultural lens, but it's also a promising story about foreign direct investment.