SelectUSA is a large conference and exhibition in Washington, DC hosted by the U.S. Commerce Department to encourage foreign investment in the USA. All 50 states and U.S. territories are represented. Shale Crescent USA has an exhibit booth every year. Last year we had a stand-up sign comparing natural gas prices. Asia was $15/MCF, Europe was $14/MCF and Shale Crescent USA was $2/MCF. A gentleman from India saw the sign and asked my wife, Lynnda who was also working our booth. “Is that a mistake?” Lynnda responded, “No sir.” He then asked, “It is obviously an introductory price. How long does it last?” Lynnda informed, “Sir, that is the market price.” He exclaimed, “Wow. I’m from India and we are paying $15/MF. We must talk!” We have since become good friends with Amit, the gentlemen asking the questions. He is a Shale Crescent USA advocate in India telling our story to potential investors.

This week Amit asked me to tell the Shale Crescent USA story to a Global Business Connect virtual event he was hosting. The audience was entrepreneurs, business enablers and investors in Europe, Asia and Africa. All want to expand their businesses outside of their own countries. These business people would love to enter the large American market. Being part of this event reminded me how blessed we are in the USA. At the Event it was mentioned, the USA has the world’s largest economy.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total value of finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders during a specified period. It is commonly measured by the expenditure method which calculates GDP by adding up spending on new consumer goods, new investment spending, government spending and the value of net exports. According to Visual Capitalists, for 2024 using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), The USA has a GDP of $29.2 Trillion, China was $18.7 Trillion, Germany $4.7 Trillion, Japan $4.0 Trillion and India $3.9 Trillion. All other nations are below India.

The USA has a growing economy at 2.2% and is poised for additional growth. China has a 4.5% growth rate. Germany is at 0.8%. Growth of other EU nations is similar. Japan’s growth is 1.1% and India is 6.5%. For the USA 2.2% of $29 Trillion is a lot of money foreign companies want to be part of. Our message at the Event was; The Shale Crescent USA is in middle of the largest economy in the world and within a days drive of 50% of U.S. population.

This may seem like just a lot of numbers. What do they mean for you, our families and others living in the Shale Crescent USA Region? Companies on the Global Business Connect virtual meeting wanted to grow their businesses and are looking for opportunity. If you had a company where would you rather expand? Into an economy with a $3-$4 Trillion GDP growing at 1% or the USA with a GDP of $29 Trillion growing at 2%? From SCUSA experience working closely with foreign companies the past 5 years, the #1 reason companies want to come to the USA is a massive and growing market. Next is cheap abundant energy and national security. We call it the American Dream.

Foreign companies investing in the USA bring investment money and good jobs. Not just for employees but for contractors or all types and local suppliers. They will use energy from our region in the form of electricity and natural gas. They will pay taxes. The money they pay contractors or wages for employees will be spent in restaurants, big box stores and local businesses like clothing, jewelry stores and hair salons. Some employees will need housing. They will need insurance agents, doctors, dentists and attorneys. A growing regional economy creates prosperity and hope especially for workers with skills for jobs of the future.

Hope in the future creates power in the present keeping people off drugs. When I was an adjunct professor before the pandemic, my students needed to graduate in May and be drug free. By October they all had at least one job offer all in excess of $50,000 to start. That is a good incentive to stay off drugs. All were planning to buy a new pickup truck and knew what it would look like. Those I have met since graduation have the pickup. Some have their house.

Most foreign investors know as much about the USA as we know about their home country, which isn’t very much. Until they are told, most have no idea of the energy and location advantages of the Shale Crescent USA creating a permanent competitive advantage for them. A company from India will soon be operational in the Ohio Valley manufacturing a product they currently ship here from India. They will use local energy and raw materials from our region, rather than using energy shipped to India from the Middle East at a high cost or from elsewhere in the USA. They are hiring local workers and will ship their product to customers a few hundred miles away rather than 15,000 miles from India. The company will win. Their customers will win. Our region will win with jobs and a growing economy. They will reduce global emissions.

One of the main reasons for the USA’s large GDP is our cheap abundant and dependable energy. In the history of world manufacturing always follows energy.

Energy runs our economy and impacts the price of everything. Europe now has some of the highest electricity prices in the world. Heat in the winter isn’t optional. Germany’s electric rates are over $0.40 per KWH. Over twice the rate we pay.

More money spent on electricity leaves less money for consumer goods and services and slows economic growth. Some people here advocate the USA should follow Germany’s lead. No thank you! The USA and especially the Shale Crescent USA supply hope people in the USA and around the world desperately need.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing and sales for Shale Crescent USA, www.shalecrescentusa.com. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and over 40 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is a professional speaker and author of four books and numerous published articles.