President Obama has made it clear that our country needs an all-of-the-above strategy to develop American energy – energy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and generates new jobs for Americans.
On Tuesday, we took another major step forward in President Obama’s commitment to responsibly expand development of America’s abundant natural gas resources by approving the Greater Natural Buttes gas development project in Utah.
This project, proposed by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, could produce more than six trillion cubic feet of natural gas over its life, support more than 4,000 American jobs during the different phases of development, and infuse millions of dollars into local Utah communities.
The project is a model for a balanced approach to energy development: by using innovative technologies and best practices, the project will limit new surface disturbance to just five percent of the area. And, as part of a landmark cooperative agreement with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Anadarko will drill the 3,600 new wells while safeguarding air quality and ensuring the protection of critical wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation values.
Today’s announcement exemplifies the kind of progress we are making as part of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy. In 2011, U.S. natural gas production grew by more than 7 percent – the largest year-over-year increase in history. U.S. gas production is now at an all-time high and oil production is at an eight-year high. And America’s dependence on foreign oil has gone down every single year since President Obama took office; we have cut net imports by ten percent – or a million barrels a day – in the last year alone.
Fonte: White House