Former politicians say winning permits for pipelines in Democratic-leaning states requires uniting a diverse set of stakeholders—from civil rights activists to West Texas oilmen. (Source: Shutterstock)
Getting pipelines installed in the bluest states in the U.S. will take a coalition as diverse as the Village People.
West Texas oilmen. Preachers in Harlem, New York. Utility engineers.
“It’s the best coalition out there,” said Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), a former congressman who is part of the leadership council for Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future.
Natural Allies is an educational 501(c)4 organization that conducts outreach, primarily to potential voters in areas where the government is hostile to natural gas infrastructure development.
Some of the country’s largest natural gas and midstream companies back the group, including Williams Cos., Enbridge, EQT and Tallgrass.
Former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has been with the group since it started five years ago. Landrieu and Ryan both spoke at the 2025 CERAWeek by S&P Global Conference to discuss the group’s goals with company attendees and journalists.
Along with the corporations at CERAWeek, Natural Allies has met with groups such as civil rights activist Al Sharpton’s National Action Network. Landrieu said the industry has a chance to make some headway in blue areas by reaching out to people from the not-as-rich neighborhoods where pocketbook issues are a primary concern.
Repeated unsuccessful attempts to expand the natural gas infrastructure in New England have led to higher utility bills. Residential gas rates in Massachusetts are 50% higher than the U.S. average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“It’s pretty unbelievable, the amount of the increased cost in poor neighborhoods, as well as in Boston generally, but it falls heavily on the poor,” Landrieu said. “You know, if wealthy people want to do the Green New Deal and charge themselves the cost of it, fine.
“But to do it and then put it on the shoulders of the poor and then pretend like you didn't do that, that is outrageous and wrong, and that's what's going on in this country, pretending that they didn't do that, and they did.”
Moderate Democrats will play a crucial role in tipping popular opinion in the blue states, Ryan said. Center-left politicians carry far more credit with audiences that can be swayed.
Landrieu and Ryan said the election of President Donald Trump is a signal the politics surrounding permit reform may finally be changing, though they said that the energy industry, in turn, needs to continue showcasing its efforts at reducing emissions.
“The industry is staying the course to reduce methane emissions,” Landrieu said. “The message we’re stressing this year is to recognize the benefits of natural gas in delivering an affordable electric grid to this country. If you didn't notice in the last election, cost of goods was an issue.”
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