At the American Petroleum Institute’s annual State of American Energy event, API President and CEO Mike Sommers framed the coming decade in blunt terms: energy demand is rising fast, and pretending otherwise is no longer a political luxury that the United States can afford. Looking back nearly two decades, Sommers reminded the audience that in 2007 the U.S. produced just 5 million barrels of oil per day and relied heavily on imports, including from Venezuela. “Energy strength doesn’t happen by chance,” he said. “It…