The Hill News

In last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama called for an all-of-the-above approach to energy as a critical part of securing this country’s future â€" and we agree. The United States must pursue all of its energy options â€" including increased domestic oil and natural gas production, coal, nuclear, renewables and more.

That includes unconventional energy sources. Certainly, the United States is realizing almost unimaginable growth in the development of oil and natural gas from shale, which is powering an economic boom in North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and others.

Just a few years ago, that hardly seemed likely. Yet, the latest data from the Energy Information Administration demonstrates how technological advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have dramatically increased America’s natural gas potential to the point that the EIA now says the U.S. is home to the second-largest natural gas reserves in the worl! d, and that by 2035, 70 percent of the country’s gas supply will be produced by fracking from shale and tight rock formations.

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