ANGA Statement on the President's State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is a statement by Regina Hopper, President and Chief Executive Officer of America's Natural Gas Alliance, on tonight's State of the Union address.

"We welcome President Obama's remarks in support of the safe and responsible development of natural gas and the opportunities it presents to create American jobs and advance our nation's environment, economy and energy security."

"Our companies disclose the chemicals used in the development of this American resource on public and private lands through the FracFocus.org registry.  And we have supported state regulation as they have adopted this model and embraced disclosure.  

"Tonight's speech builds on the White House report earlier this month documenting the broad impact that natural gas production can have on investment and job creation across leading sectors of our economy. A range of U.S. industries and their workers are more competitive today thanks to our nation's vast, affordable natural gas supplies. Along with these opportunities come lower energy costs for consumers and cleaner air. In fact, Nucor recently broke ground on a major new facility in Louisiana, creating more American jobs, in part because of our nation's abundance of natural gas.

"A cleaner environment, more jobs and economic development – our nation can take full advantage of the promise that natural gas offers. In 2010, the shale gas industry alone supported more than 600,000 American jobs, according to a recent IHS Global Insight report. This figure, which counts the broad impact through leading sectors of our economy, is expected to grow to 1.6 million by 2035.  IHS also projected that the average U.S. household will enjoy an increase in annual disposable income of $926 over each of the next three years thanks to affordable natural gas.  

"The President said – our nation does not have to choose between economic growth and environmental stewardship.  That indeed is the promise of abundant, American natural gas."

America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) represents 30 of North America's leading independent natural gas exploration and production companies. ANGA members are dedicated to increasing the appreciation of the environmental, economic and national security benefits of clean, abundant, American natural gas. Learn more about ANGA at www.anga.us.

SOURCE America's Natural Gas Alliance