The oil and natural gas industry’s commitment to spill prevention and an improved response if one occurs is illustrated in a just-launched website – oilspillinfo.org – that includes information, graphics, animations and other resources for industry members as well as the general public.

More than 99.9995 percent of the oil produced, refined, stored and/or transported in the United States safely reaches its destination without incident. That’s no accident. America’s oil and natural gas companies are working to improve that mark through a number of measures highlighted on the site, including:

• The Joint Industry Task Force – Offshore operations and safety measures came under comprehensive review after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill. In each of four major sectors affecting offshore... more »

A new API report estimates that the U.S. oil and natural gas industry has invested more than $252 billion trying to improve the environmental performance of its products, facilities and operations since 1990 – about 65 percent of that directed toward cleaner air and water.

The report is based on spending data from representative companies that was used to estimate industry-wide performance. Highlights:

• Industry spent about $13 billion in 2011, the report says, including $11 billion to implement new technologies, create cleaner fuels and fund ongoing environmental initiatives. An additional $1.9 billion was spent on research and development, corporate environmental programs and spill remediation efforts. In 2011, 35 percent of industry environmental spending was directed toward cle... more »

During a conference call with reporters on the Keystone XL pipeline, we made them aware of a new poll from Nebraska, where a public hearing on this important energy project was scheduled. The 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll found support for the Keystone XL at 65 percent with people living in non-metropolitan areas – which include counties the pipeline would cross. The poll’s executive summary:

"Most rural Nebraskans are in favor of building the Keystone XL pipeline, but think it should be built on an alternate route that avoids the Sandhills and Ogallala aquifer."

Indeed, pipeline builder TransCanada has spent months addressing that caveat, rerouting the project around environmentally sensitive areas. The scheduled public hearing is an important step in advancing the Keystone XL in Neb... more »

A new MIT study shows that the extraction of shale gas through hydraulic fracturing emits only a fraction more methane into the air than conventional gas drilling:

"Taking actual field practice into account, we estimate that in 2010 the total fugitive (greenhouse gas) emissions from US shale gas-related hydraulic fracturing amounted to 216 (gigagrams of methane). This represents 3.6% of the estimated 6002 (gigagrams of methane) of fugitive emissions from all natural gas production-related sources in that year … Thus under a goal of GHG reduction it is clear that increased efforts must be made to reduce fugitive losses from this system. However, it is also clear is that the production of shale gas and specifically, the associated hydraulic fracturing operations have not materially al... more »

The headline of a Washington Post op-ed authored last week by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and hydraulic fracturing pioneer George P. Mitchell is close to the mark in framing the national debate over the development of natural gas from shale using fracking technology: “Fracking is too important to foul up.”

Bloomberg and Mitchell:

"The production of shale gas through fracking is the most significant development in the U.S. energy sector in generations, and it affords…benefits that people on both sides of the debate should welcome."

We agree, which is why America’s oil and natural gas companies are committed to safe and responsible development of a game-changing resource in terms of the country’s energy security and economy.

Bloomberg and Mitchell correctly note natur... more »