Oil and natural gas needed to get to tomorrow’s fuels

Marty Durbin, Washington, D.C.

Friday, March 25, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

Regarding the Las Vegas Sun’s Thursday editorial, “Forging a new policy”:

Nevada drivers have a right to be concerned about rising fuel prices, and the editorial’s point, that there is no one way to achieve a balanced energy policy to bring stability to the energy markets, is on the mark.

For years we have advocated a comprehensive policy; in fact, U.S. oil and natural gas companies are among the leaders in increasing efficiency, in encouraging wiser use of all energy and in the development of alternative-energy technologies, such as solar, wind and geothermal power and biofuels.

Until those technologies are capable of providing more energy for all Americans at reasonable costs, we will need more oil and natural gas, and America must continue to pursue policies that encourage responsible development of American oil and natural gas resources.

The energy markets are constantly looking for signals to guide today’s investment strategies for producing tomorrow’s energy. Regrettably, the signals this administration has been sending encourage less investment in future energy production — unless you are in Brazil, where President Barack Obama recently urged greater oil production for exporting to the United States.

The Obama administration has a responsibility to pursue policies that will result in greater energy security and provide more energy of all types to meet a growing economy’s energy demands while providing more jobs for Americans, including in Nevada.

The writer is executive vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that represents the oil and natural gas industries.