The naming of Charlie Williams as the first executive director of the new Center for Offshore Safety marks an important milestone in America's efforts to safely and responsibly develop its vast offshore energy resources.

Williams leads the center after 40 years with Shell, where most recently he was the company's chief scientist for well engineering and production technology. His work included developing high-pressure, high-temperature wells and specializing in drilling and completion equipment for extreme environments, such as deepwater exploration and development. Williams was introduced Wednesday:

"We have assembled the best and the brightest minds to help ensure we develop America's vast resources in the safest manner possible. Our top priority is to develop practices and prog... more »

On Thursday, June 16, API hosted bloggers for a conference call to discuss the economic benefits of oil sands development and the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Janet Annesley, vice president of communications for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), took questions from bloggers along with API experts Cindy Schild, John Kerekes, Marty Durbin and Peter Lidiak.

Topics discussed included the approval process for Keystone XL, pipeline safety standards and U.S. investments in refineries that would support the pipeline. Notably, API's Cindy Schild discussed how the creation of the pipeline could create more U.S. jobs, increase energy security and strengthen the U.S. economy:

"The U.S. should approve this pipeline to utilize this resource to enhance our energy secur... more »

It's not enough to talk a good game. The administration's call for increased domestic oil and natural gas production isn't being matched in terms of granting access to the reserves that would yield the energy America needs now and in the future.

Since the government resumed issuing deepwater drilling permits in March, just 15 have been granted and just one in the past month - and some of those are previously granted permits that were suspended when the administration put a moratorium on drilling after last year's Macondo accident.

America needs a permitting pace that reflects its energy needs but is getting a snail's pace instead. API Upstream Director Erik Milito:

"The Interior Department is not doing enough to prepare our nation for a secure energy future, and its policies are harming ou... more »

The "Rally to Fight Fracking" in Harrisburg, Pa., last week got the name wrong. "Rally to Fight Jobs" would have been a better title because stopping fracking - the endgame of the anti-fracking crowd - would cost Pennsylvania many thousands of jobs.

Without hydraulic fracturing technology - which essentially uses water pressure to create fissures in rock to allow natural gas and oil to come to the surface - Pennsylvania would not be able to develop more than a small fraction of its immense natural gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale formation that runs under much of the state.

This could mean stopping an energy renaissance that is already producing enormous economic benefits, including large numbers of high-wage jobs that are driving unemployment down and putting food on the table f... more »

While the administration wrestles with itself over approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, some important points to consider:

• Within a few years of its completion, Keystone XL would deliver upwards of 830,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) from Canada's oil sands region to U.S. refiners, creating tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.
• The Energy Information Administration reports that with the additional 830,000 b/d, U.S. production and secure, reliable Canadian imports would supply 57 percent of our crude oil needs - up from 51 percent in 2010.
• In a larger context, the pipeline would be part of an access strategy that could supply 92 percent of this country's liquid fuel needs by 2035.

Given the prospect of access to that much oil from a good neighbor and ally, you'd think government approval woul... more »