|Photo by Emma Delk| Toby Rice, President and Chief Executive Officer of EQT, speaks during the Ohio Valley Energy Association's meeting on Thursday.

Ohio Valley Energy Association members learned what the focus of fossil fuel companies will be during Donald Trump’s upcoming presidency from the keynote speaker of their December meeting, President and Chief Executive Officer of EQT Toby Rice.

Rice said the results of the 2024 election mean it has “never been more important for us to produce energy in this country.” This energy production would serve multiple needs, from providing energy to U.S. allies to generating power for the current artificial intelligence technology “boom.”

Rice noted that while energy production has “never been more important,” it has also “never been more difficult.”

“We built fewer miles of pipelines last year that we had at an annual base than we had in the prior 30 years,” Rice said. “The last big pipeline that got built required an act of Congress to get built.”

Rice added that “energy poverty,” which occurs when a household reduces its energy consumption to a degree that negatively impacts the inhabitants’ health and well-being, began increasing worldwide for the first time in 20 years.

Rice attributed the difficulties in energy production in the country partly to a lack of awareness of “how much energy demand there is in the world.” He noted that individuals who promote “alternate energy schemes,” such as solar power and wind farms, are unaware these alternate forms of energy “cannot meet the world demand for energy.”

“Two percent of the world’s energy is solar and wind, so you have to increase that current production by a million [to meet worldwide energy demands],” Rice said. “I can’t blame people for not understanding how much energy demand there is in this world. That’s a big concept to try and get your head wrapped around.”

Another obstacle to energy production Rice identified was “concerns about emissions,” noting that this was a “heavyweight issue” that required a “heavyweight solution.”

“People think we can innovate our way into this magical solution that’s going to be better than what we have now,” Rice noted. “Every day at EQT, our 1,500 employees are waking up and thinking about how to make the energy we produce cheaper, more reliable and cleaner. We want to make this a better industry.”

Rice said he believed perceptions regarding emissions concerns were “beginning to change” among those skeptical of natural gas. He said the high emissions from other countries were beginning to make skeptical lawmakers ask questions such as, “What can we do to lower the amount of coal that’s being used in India?”

Rice added another impact that fossil fuel opponents were not considering was energy poverty. Rice noted the International Energy Agency reported that the number of people living without access to electricity began increasing for the first time in 20 years after a constant decrease.

Rice noted that the increase in those living without electricity began in 2018 when the environmental, social and governance movement, a set of standards used to measure an organization’s environmental and social impact, “hit the front lines.”

“2018 was the moment when things became incredibly difficult for us to produce energy,” Rice said. “It resulted in the pipeline cancellation movements, and that has obviously been one of the most destructive things that has taken place in this country.”

Rice said he hoped for a positive turn for the fossil fuel industry with the results of the 2024 election and the cabinet nominees incoming President Donald Trump was making. He said he “could not be more excited” about Trump’s choice for Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, CEO of the hydraulic fracturing company Liberty Energy.

“People will ask me all the time, ‘Hey, what is Chris like?'” Rice said. “I’ll tell you this: He understands climate is incredibly important. He’s read the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports and knows climate since he’s debated it for the past five years.

“He’s not just an oil and gas guy,” Rice continued.

Rice said EQT’s goal for the next year would be to “unleash American energy,” including the energy production abilities of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.

“Unleashing American energy is going to be a really big thing,” Rice said. “We’ve got the leaders in place, and I know we’ve got the innovative workforce to do it. We have to keep pushing, and now is the opportunity for us to do that since we’ve got a great setup here in D.C.”

After Rice’s presentation, Ohio Valley Energy Association President Jim Milleson questioned Rice about EQT’s efforts to reduce emissions. Rice said the company had addressed methane emissions, which he noted is often what natural gas opponents say should “shut down natural gas development,” and reduced the company’s carbon footprint from 800,000 tons to about 200,000 tons.

This carbon footprint reduction was achieved by replacing drawing wells “twice as fast,” which Rice noted created “massive efficiency gains on the emissions front.”

“That 200,000-ton footprint is for all of our operations across 600 sites, creates 2500 watts and half a billion dollars of new reinvestments every single year,” Rice said.

Milleson noted that education was the “key to the Ohio Valley Energy Association” and added Rice was one of the “top speakers in the country on energy.” He noted Milleson “got his start” in Belmont County with his brothers as part of Rice Energy, which later became EQT.

“He’s so progressive as far as doing what is right for his company,” Milleson said. “He’s talking about natural gas and, more importantly, energy from this area being used across the world. We take care of local first, but we want to export, and Appalachia can do it.”

Milleson also thanked the event’s sponsors, which included Pipeliners Local Union 798, Project BEST, Verdantas, S&A Financial Services and the Ohio River Collieries Company.

Roseann Ferro, US Sen. Joe Manchin’s regional coordinator, represented Manchin at the meeting. During the meeting, Manchin gave a video speech in which he said energy policy is “critical to securing our energy future.”

“As Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I am proud to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to produce some of the greatest advancement in America’s energy production in decades,” Manchin said. “From the steel to build our country to the modern natural gas production, we have made some of the greatest advancements in America’s energy production in decades. As our nation continues its progress for energy security, West Virginia and the Ohio Valley area are once again prepared to answer the call.”