US President Barack Obama has pledged support to further develop shale and other forms of natural gas in the US, as he promotes domestic energy production in its energy agenda.
In his State of the Union address, Obama called for the government to develop a roadmap for responsible shale gas production and said his administration would move forward with “common-sense” new rules to make sure drillers protect the public.
“Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American made energy,” Obama said Tuesday.
“We need an all out, all of the above strategy that develops every available source of American energy,” Obama said. “A strategy that is cleaner, cheaper and full of new jobs.”
A boom in shale oil production will raise US domestic crude output by a fifth over the next decade, helping to slash the country’s dependence on foreign oil imports, the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) said Monday in its recent annual report.
Improvements in drilling techniques have transformed the US energy landscape in recent years by unlocking the country's immense shale oil and gas reserves.
But the drilling boom has raised concerns about the safety of natural gas extraction techniques like hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which environmentalists say could pollute water supplies.
“The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy,” he said.
By 2035, EIA projected US oil imports are expected to drop to 36 per cent of total consumption from 49 per cent in 2010 as domestic gas production rises plus higher vehicle efficiency standards.
Obama said his administration would take “every possible action to safely develop” natural gas, saying the nation had supplies that could last up to 100 years and had the potential to support 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.
The US president also announced he would open more than 75 per cent of the US’s potential offshore oil and gas resources, reflecting that US oil production was currently at its highest level in eight years and foreign oil imports were down.
Obama strongly defended his record in investing in renewable energy, saying government support was critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.
“I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy,” he said. “I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here.”
Gas News | US
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