Domestic natural gas and crude oil production is “indispensable” if the United States intends to overcome its addiction to foreign oil, the incoming chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) said this week.

Speaking to participants at the annual IOGCC meeting in Santa Fe, NM, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry said developing alternative energy sources, which include solar, wind and biofuels, is an important component of the domestic energy mix. However, the United States “will need every arrow in our quiver” to face the challenges of domestic energy production in the decades ahead, Henry said.

“The goal of true energy independence is far too complex to believe that renewable sources alone will be enough,” he told participants from the 38 member states of the IOGCC. Henry succeeds Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who served as this year’s IOGCC chair.

Among other things, U.S. lawmakers should be encouraged to work with the IOGCC to help create energy policies that will ensure sustainable domestic energy supplies, Henry said.

“It’s more critical now than ever before that we work together in a bipartisan manner,” he said. “Nearly 70% of our nation’s oil comes from foreign sources…” and IOGCC’s members have a “real opportunity” to help set the parameters for the policy debate and to help shape solutions.

The Oklahoma governor outlined several initiatives he wants the IOGCC to pursue in the coming year. Henry wants the IOGCC to work with the Department of Energy to share information on how to explore underdeveloped resources in some of the key U.S. oil and gas basins. In addition, the governor plans to expand IOGCC’s energy education efforts to help the public understand the importance of domestic energy resources.

“We are on the cusp of momentous debate and discussion on the federal level, and it is critical and absolutely vital that the IOGCC lend its experience and expertise to the mix,” said Henry. “Regulations aimed at environmental protection are important and appropriate, but they cannot come at the expense of handcuffing an industry that must enhance domestic oil and gas production. Nowhere is this balancing act more important than in matters of hydraulic fracturing and carbon sequestration.”

IOGCC has taken the lead in many areas, he said, but he also stressed that more has to be done by the member states to develop effective carbon sequestration policies and to focus on water issues and the relationship between energy production and future water supply.

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