Paramount Plus’s Landman show supports Oil & Gas

“And hell, it’s in everything. That road we came in on. The wheels on every car ever made, including yours. It’s in tennis rackets and lipstick and refrigerators and antihistamines. Pretty much anything plastic. Your cell phone case, artificial heart valves, any kind of clothing that’s not made with animal or plant fibers, soap, hand lotion, garbage bags, fishing boats, you name it.”

The ”it” is oil, but this isn’t an Energy Transfer commercial, it’s a clip from a recent episode of Landman, the latest hit show from writer/producer Taylor Sheridan, creator of the mega-popular Yellowstone and other TV series and movies.

Set in the oil fields of West Texas, Landman is “a modern tale of fortune-seeking amongst roughnecks and billionaires in the world of oil,” as described by its network, Paramount Plus.

Sheridan is known for penning razor-sharp, opinionated dialogue that sometimes courts controversy. In the show’s third episode, which aired on December 1, his titular landman character Tommy Norris, played by Billy Bob Thornton, doesn’t hold back when expressing his views on renewable energy – more specifically, wind power. The clip was so compelling that it went viral on social media – a rare feat for any show, but especially one about the oil and gas industry.

While Energy Transfer takes a more balanced view of renewable energy sources like wind and solar as an important part of our nation’s energy mix, Norris does make some great points, especially that part about oil being in everything.

Now, there is one thing Norris said that we disagree with. Despite his proclamations to the contrary, it’s doubtful that our planet will run out of fossil fuels anytime soon. Estimates vary widely, but it is safe to say we are good for decades to come.

Other than that, we think it’s refreshing that a popular Hollywood TV series isn’t afraid to express a pro-oil and gas point-of-view. To expand on the topic, we thought it would be helpful to point out some ways that oil and natural gas are helping power a renewable energy future.

As Norris aptly pointed out, renewable energy components like wind turbines and solar panels are fabricated with the help of oil and gas, so you can’t have one without the other.

Here are some other quick facts:

• Natural gas and oil are used in the production of concrete, steel, glass, plastics, and purified minerals that are used to build renewable energy components such as wind blades and solar panels, products and facilities
• State-of-the-art wind turbine blades are made of carbon fiber, which consists of layers of plastics and plastic resin, both of which are derived from oil and natural gas feedstocks.
• Most renewable energy components, such as wind blades, are required to be replaced every 10 years. And currently, there is not a good solution for the disposal of these components.  When it comes time to replace, it is safe to say oil and gas will continue to support the construction and transportation of these materials.
• Renewable energy parts use, on average, 10 times the amount of materials extracted and processed to produce the same amount of energy as hydrocarbon infrastructure.
• Renewable energy sources like wind and solar make up just 9% of the U.S. energy mix, compared to 36% for natural gas and 38% for oil.

Supporting Our Power Grid

As stated above, natural gas and renewable energy should work together to responsibly meet our global energy needs. Other important facts include:

• Renewable energy sources are intermittent at best. Natural gas provides flexible and reliable power when wind and solar are unavailable and when renewable energy storage capacity is full.
• Natural gas power plants can be ramped up or down to meet power grid demands, while wind and solar are less controllable sources.
• Power grid infrastructure for natural gas is largely in place, whereas transitioning to an all-renewable system is decades away and will require a big increase in wind, solar, and storage construction projects along with the need for more large interstate transmission lines.
• Natural gas is the primary energy source powering the U.S. electric grid, accounting for 43.1% of our country’s electricity in 2023 (renewables accounted for 21.4%).