I'm extremely pleased to see the active role being played by the Kentucky Oil and Gas Association in hosting this meeting. There is no question that the future of the oil and gas industry in this country will be largely determined by our nation's independent producers. Today energy is back on the Nation's agenda. Very few people can tell you the current price of a box of detergent. But everyone can quote the exact price of a gallon of gasoline.
Oil is again a national topic of discussion and a national issue of concern.
But more recently we have entered into cooperative efforts with the National Association of State Energy Officials in several areas, including a pilot program to install more energy efficient motors and other cost-saving devices in oil fields. By reducing operating costs, we hope to keep many marginal properties from being prematurely abandoned. We would encourage States to become active partners in projects that, we hope, will identify regional obstacles to oil production and demonstrate ways to overcome these problems. But perhaps overshadowed by the recent roller coaster prices of crude oil is the issue of natural gas. And that is what I want to focus on this morning.