Reid Porter | 202.682.8114 | porterr@api.org

WASHINGTON, November 30, 2010 — The American Petroleum Institute (API) today issued the following statement prior to today’s forum on hydraulic fracturing hosted by the U.S. Interior Department. According to API Senior Economist Sara Banaszak, hydraulic fracturing is a critical process for accessing our domestic natural gas resources:

“Hydraulic fracturing combines a proven technology with an advanced drilling technique that allows us to access domestic natural gas resources that were inaccessible just a few years ago. Developing this domestic natural gas will mean billions of dollars in government revenue and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Clean-burning natural gas heats and cools millions of homes, generates electricity, and creates basic materials such as fertilizers and plastics. Sterile plastics, for example, are used in every hospital in the country.

“Natural gas is critical to ensuring that we have the energy we need to create jobs, protect our energy security and foster a strong economy.

According to API, industry best practices and existing state regulations have proven effective in protecting the environment. The industry continues to improve its operations, and API continues to develop industry guidance specific to this technology, including documents on well construction, water use and management, and surface environmental considerations. The industry has been implementing best practices for decades and these documents provide a clear framework for sound operations. The industry will continue to share best practices and guidance documents with stakeholders.

Banaszak also cited a recent MIT study that shows that the U.S. has enough resources to supply 100 percent of America’s natural gas needs for 100 years.

More information on guidance documents and the hydraulic fracturing process is available on the API website via: www.api.org/policy/exploration/hydraulicfracturing/ (scroll down for links to specific areas of interest; including HF1 and HF2 guidance documents).

API represents more than 400 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs, accounts for 7.5 percent of the U.S. economy, and, since 2000, has invested nearly $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives, while reducing the industry’s environmental footprint.