I should also mention that next April, April 25 th and 26 th , we will have our third workshop in the last two years in Alaska. The workshop was developed with the assistance from the State of Alaska and federal regulatory agencies. It will examine established oil and gas practices and technologies in the Alaska s North Slope, and how they prevent and mitigate impacts on wildlife in their habitats. And this is certainly not your dad's oil and gas industry. Times are changing and we must keep up with the change to stay competitive.
Technology is the key to the energy future.
In the past three decades the petroleum industry has transformed itself into a high technology industry. Dramatic advances in technology for exploration, drilling and completion, production and site restoration, have enabled the industry to keep up with the increasing demand for reliable supplies of oil and natural gas at affordable prices. In October of this year, the Department, under the leadership of Secretary Richardson, released a report citing the environmental benefits of advanced oil and gas exploration and production technology. This report highlights 36 technological innovations as representative of a much larger set of improvements that have occurred over the last 30 years. This report shows, or proves that with each step-up in performance and efficiency, industry can recover more resources with fewer wells drilled, resulting in smaller volumes of cuttings, drilling muds and fluids, and produced waters.