CLEVELAND, May 11, 2012 ─ At a City Club of Cleveland event, API President and CEO Jack Gerard said that Ohio was experiencing an energy “rebirth” and that it could be a game changer for jobs and economic growth in the state.
“Ohio has immense opportunities to create thousands of jobs thanks to the Utica and Marcellus shale plays,” said Gerard. “Responsible energy production has already generated more than $22 billion for the Buckeye state. It is the industry’s use of new technology like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that has given fresh life to energy development in Ohio.”
A March poll of likely Ohio voters, conducted by bipartisan groups Public Opinion Strategies and Frederick Polls on behalf of API, found that 73 percent of Ohio voters favor more development of U.S. oil and natural gas resources. The poll found that large majorities agree that more U.S. oil and natural gas development could lead to more American jobs (91 percent), increase the nation's energy security (86 percent), help reduce consumer energy costs (84 percent), and deliver more revenue to the government (75 percent). Seventy-four percent believe that some in Washington are intentionally delaying domestic oil and natural gas development, potentially hurting the economy and leading to higher energy costs for consumers.
“With the combination of oil and natural gas, coal, nuclear, renewable and alternative energy sources such as biofuels we have the largest energy resources in the world—more than Saudi Arabia, more than China, and more than Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Kuwait combined,” said Gerard. “If we take lessons from states like Pennsylvania and North Dakota, can create a bright economic future for Ohio, but we need public and tax policies that will bring investment and jobs to the state, not drive them away.”
API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America's energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested more than $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.