Back to the RadioSpace™ home page
NewsDirect story topics:
Consumer, Business & General Interest
Current Events & Public Affairs
Entertainment & Sports
Health & Medicine
Despite the Major Accident in the Gulf of Mexico, America's Oil and Natural-Gas Industry Still Produces Domestic Resources Safely and Reliably
Statement from API Senior Economist Rayola Dougher ("dew-er") in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(188 seconds)
-- How Will You Use This Story? --
(DOUGHER):
"THE TRAGIC ACCIDENT IN THE GULF [OF MEXICO] WAS
UNPRECEDENTED--AND OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE FAMILIES WHO
LOST LOVED-ONES, TO THE WORKERS WHO WERE INJURED, AND TO EVERYONE IN THE
GULF WHO WERE [SIC] AFFECTED. THE RESPONSE HAS ALSO BEEN
UNPRECEDENTED: INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT WERE ON THE SCENE
IMMEDIATELY AND MASSIVELY. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING
LONG AND HARD, TO CONTROL AND HALT THE RELEASE OF OIL--AND TO PROTECT
THE SHORELINE. OUR WORK WILL NOT END UNTIL WE STOP THE FLOW OF
OIL, CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT, UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES, AND CORRECT THEM.
WE OWE THAT TO OUR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES--AND WE OWE IT TO OUR
COUNTRY. SAFETY IS A CORE-VALUE FOR THE U-S OFFSHORE
OIL-AND-NATURAL-GAS INDUSTRY--AND THE PROCESS OF IMPROVEMENT HAS ALREADY
BEGUN: THE INDUSTRY FORMED TWO TASKFORCES, WHICH PROVIDE INPUT TO
THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ON IMPROVING OFFSHORE
EQUIPMENT AND OPERATING-PROCEDURES. THEIR WORK WILL COMPLEMENT
[THE DEPARTMENT OF THE] INTERIOR'S 'OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF SAFETY
OVERSIGHT BOARD'--AND ANY SAFETY-ENHANCEMENTS. UNDERSTANDING
THE CAUSES OF THE ACCIDENT WILL HELP THE INDUSTRY RAISE THE BAR ON OUR
PERFORMANCE--AND BETTER INFORM POLICY-CHOICES RELATED TO OFFSHORE
DEVELOPMENT. WE WILL NEED MORE OIL AND NATURAL GAS, TO HELP
MEET GROWING DEMAND, IN THE COMING DECADES. OFFSHORE PRODUCTION
FROM THE GULF ACCOUNTS FOR 30-PERCENT OF THE NATION'S TOTAL DOMESTIC
OIL-PRODUCTION--AND 13-PERCENT OF DOMESTIC NATURAL-GAS-PRODUCTION.
APPROXIMATELY 70-PERCENT OF THE OIL, AND 36-PERCENT OF THE NATURAL GAS,
PRODUCED IN THE GULF COME FROM DEEPWATER EXPLORATION. PRESIDENT
OBAMA AND INTERIOR-SECRETARY SALAZAR RECENTLY REAFFIRMED THE IMPORTANCE
OF DOMESTIC OIL- AND NATURAL-GAS-PRODUCTION, TO THE NATION'S STRATEGY
FOR ENERGY- AND ECONOMIC-SECURITY. WE FULLY SUPPORT PRESIDENT
OBAMA'S PLAN FOR AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THE SPILL.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE URGE POLICYMAKERS TO CONSIDER THAT ANY POLICIES
[THAT ARE] ENACTED DON'T HAVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR NATION AND
[FOR OUR] RECOVERING ECONOMY. MISGUIDED PROPOSALS COULD RESULT IN
HUNDREDS-OF-THOUSANDS OF LOST JOBS--INCLUDING MANY IN THE GULF-STATES;
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF LOST GOVERNMENT-REVENUE; AND A SHARP
DECREASE IN OUR COUNTRY'S ENERGY-SECURITY. PERMANENTLY SHUTTING
DOWN AN ENTIRE PROGRAM OR SYSTEM--WHETHER IT'S OUR 'INTERSTATE
HIGHWAY SYSTEM', OUR SPACE-PROGRAM, OR OUR AIRWAYS--IS NEVER AN
OPTION, WHEN THERE'S AN ACCIDENT OR TRAGEDY. THE
OIL-AND-NATURAL-GAS INDUSTRY IS NO DIFFERENT: WE CAN SAFELY AND
RELIABLY PRODUCE DOMESTIC RESOURCES THAT WE'LL NEED AT HOME. FOR
MORE THAN 60 YEARS, OUR INDUSTRY HAS DEVELOPED THESE RESOURCES THAT LIE
OFF OUR COASTS--AND, WITH RARE EXCEPTIONS, HAS DONE SO IN A SAFE,
ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY. WE WILL ADDRESS THE SAFETY-ISSUES
RELATED TO THIS ACCIDENT, AND [WILL] CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE ENERGY
[THAT] OUR NATION NEEDS--KEEPING JOBS AND REVENUE AT HOME, WHILE
ENHANCING OUR ENERGY-SECURITY. A-P-I HAS DEVELOPED A
'DEEPWATER HORIZON [Q-AND-A]: INDUSTRY SAFETY AND RESPONSIBILITY'
PAGE THAT ADDRESSES SOME OF THE NEWS-REPORTS AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
INCIDENT. IT ALSO INCLUDES INDUSTRY-STANDARDS AND BEST-PRACTICE
DOCUMENTS THAT CONTAIN GUIDANCE AND RECOMMENDATIONS, TO ADDRESS
SAFETY-CONCERNS. THE WEB-ADDRESS FOR THIS IS:
'A-P-I'-DOT-ORG-SLASH-'NEWSROOM'-SLASH-'SAFETY-RESPONSE'.
THANK YOU."
