WVE : In West Virginia , coal is our largest export . Where is the potential growth in the market , nationally or globally ?
Hamilton : Coal is West Virginia ’ s fastest growing export product totaling $ 2.7 billion last year and accounting for 43.5 % of West Virginia ’ s total export products . This level of output sustains thousands of mining and local support jobs throughout our state and contributes immensely to West Virginia ’ s economy and our nation ’ s balance of trade . Almost half of the U . S .’ s international coal exports are from West Virginia . During calendar year 2021 , a total of 28 million tons of high-grade thermal and metallurgical coal was exported to six continents and 49 foreign destinations throughout the world for high-quality steel making , base-load electric and power generation and to shore-up military and defense systems . Even greater opportunities abound for West Virginia and its coal as the Ukraine crisis intensifies and the world places greater attention on national security , energy supplies and trade policies . Most NATO and European countries are looking to replace Russian energy and coal checks all the boxes for reliability , security , safety and cost . West Virginia ’ s world-class mining operations stand ready to meet this demand as we look to expand coal ’ s market share and our industry ’ s contribution to world health , stability and independence .
WVE : What trends do you see in terms of natural gas production and use ?
Burd : There is a lot going on globally affecting that . Everything that is going on in Ukraine directly impacts all of us here in the U . S . I think all oil and gas producing states in the country are looking to see where they are and how to embrace the challenge of producing more energy that can be used globally , and obviously the producers of the Gas and Oil Association of WV , Inc . would be no different . The trouble is , there is no overnight answer to a problem that has been exasperated by the administration ’ s negative view of fossil fuels , shutting down pipelines and restricting the issuance of drilling permits on federal lands . We are all interconnected by one massive series of pipes , so everything that happens globally affects us .
The challenge is to get this product that we produce to market . When you are shutting down pipelines or stopping the construction of pipelines that provide very necessary daily capacity takeaways , that is troublesome . There are parts of our country that are in need of natural gas and oil , a product that can be liquified and then shipped to our allies . When you have yourself dependent on others for the things you need most , that is a dangerous position to be in and that is why the efficient , clean development of oil and natural gas in this country to get us back where we were in 2020 — which was not just energy independent but energy dominant in the world — is important . That should be part of our all of the above energy goal . •
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