Reid Porter | 202.682.8114 | porterr@api.org
WASHINGTON, March 8, 2011 – API is hosting 18 American oil and natural gas workers from six states for meetings on Capitol Hill this week to discuss natural gas and hydraulic fracturing. Lawmakers will hear directly from the employees of several natural gas supplier and service companies.
“It’s critical for our elected officials to hear from their own constituents about the importance of natural gas to local communities, to jobs, and our energy security,” said Marty Durbin, API executive vice president for government affairs. “These employees represent job creation among the thousands of suppliers and service companies that benefit from America’s investment in this abundant, clean burning domestic fuel.”
“Our industry is committed to the safe production of natural gas, and stands by its strong record over the past 60-plus years,” said Durbin. “We continue to work with engineers, geologists, and environmental and government experts to develop the best standards and practices. These standards address activities such as construction practices, the environment, and water use and management procedures to protect our drinking water and our communities.”
This fly-in involved natural gas workers telling their individual stories from Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.
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API represents more than 450 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 and 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.