Thank you for that kind introduction and for having me back.  It’s good to be with you once again.

I again want to thank Lee for his kind words in introducing me and for his conscientious leadership of the NPC.  And I want to thank Marshal as well for all his efforts.  They are appreciated by me and, I hope, by all of you.

And, while I have had the benefit of some summary information included in earlier drafts of your report, the thoroughness of the briefing you have just provided is very impressive.  Everyone who participated in the creation of this study and in its presentation is to be congratulated for their excellent work.  This is truly a landmark effort.

As we are all aware, we are at a critical stage in the development of energy policy.  The projected increases in the demand for power and for fuel arise out of our belief that both the U.S. economy and the global economy shall continue to grow.

This is a good thing.  But our increasing needs here at home and the increasing need around the world for more and more energy stocks requires us to soberly assess what we would like the future to look like, and to plan now how we will get there.

The President has been keenly aware of the need for such an assessment for some time, even from the first days of his Administration.

The National Energy Policy - which led to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 were important steps forward.  But they were the beginning of the journey, not the end.

In 2005, when I asked you all to study the future, I realized I was asking you to take on a big task.

We made a decision that, to understand our energy system, we needed to commission superior analytic work utilizing the expertise available to us in the private sector, in academia and in the scientific community.

In the context of concerns over production and supply brought on by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, over adequate energy investment, and because of the challenges that were starting to appear in larger energy projects, I asked you to embark on what to my mind would be one of the most comprehensive studies of current and future global oil and natural gas supplies ever conducted.

Specifically, I asked you all to look at what the future holds for global oil and natural gas supplies, whether incremental supplies can be brought online, on time and at a reasonable price to meet future demand without jeopardizing economic growth and to recommend both supply- and demand-side strategies the United States can pursue to ensure greater economic stability and prosperity.

You took up my challenge.  And you have completed your task in a way that is of great credit to everyone involved.

As I said a moment ago, I appreciate the thoroughness of the briefing you just provided.  I am impressed by it and by the broad representation of sectors and interests that were asked to take part in its creation.

You engaged more than 350 participants from a variety of disciplines inside and outside the oil and gas industry as well as energy consultants, energy efficiency advocates, the financial community, academia and professional societies, environmental groups, non-governmental organizations and the U.S. government.

You sought the best data, the best ideas, the best assessments, no matter where they could be found.  You even reached out to other countries to assist you in your efforts we engaged energy ministers in 19 countries to inform them about the study and to request their input and data.  And, I am pleased to say, many provided constructive responses.

Your study process included significant technology and geopolitical analysis as part of its organization that goes beyond typical supply and demand analysis.  And it included a significant international outreach and opportunity for participation and data input from international companies and global organizations.  You have created a product that is different from other studies.  It usefully identifies strategies for consideration by policy and decision makers at all levels of government and industry.

It is extraordinarily comprehensive in its analysis and in its proposed path forward, saying essentially that as demand grows, all forms of energy, traditional and alternative, fossil fuel and renewable, will be needed to meet the world’s needs.

It is based on a broad and deep analytic foundation encompassing more than 100 energy projections, including a unique system for compiling proprietary forecasts while protecting the confidentiality of the data.  The system is also transparent so anyone who wishes to understand how the data was used can have access to the data set -- and you all know the importance I place on transparency.

Let me assure you: My interest in what you have produced does not end with this meeting.  I will read it thoroughly and consider its recommendations with great care.  In fact, I have already begun to mull them over while sitting here with you.

The breadth of the study, the comprehensive nature of both its analysis and its recommendations, makes it a useful and important tool as we move ahead and shape future U.S. energy policy.

In these times of rapid price fluctuations, shrinking production margins, global uncertainty and conflicting opinions on the state of the world’s oil reserves, we need and appreciate the collective global expertise represented in your report.

Your input is a valuable part of our long-term strategic planning as we try to ensure America’s current and future energy security and economic prosperity while meeting the challenges developing economies pose to the world’s energy security.

These are hard facts, and hard facts require us to plan for hard choices, now and in the future.

The need to do this is, as I think you know, central to the Bush Administration’s energy policy.  We understand full well, and your report reflects this, that oil and natural gas will retain their preeminent position in the hierarchy of U.S. energy supplies for some time to come.  But we must be mindful of both our environmental responsibilities and the needs of future generations; and so we must aggressively pursue new energy options and alternatives.

By this I mean not only solar and wind power but, among other strategies, the increased use of nuclear power, environmentally-responsible electricity generation through coal-fired plants that utilize carbon-capture and sequestration technology and a greater reliance on bio-science and bio-fuels to produce fuels for use in the transportation sector.

As you know, the President has called for us to take steps to decrease domestic gasoline usage. The cornerstone of this proposal is an effort to reduce the projected consumption of gasoline by 20 percent in 10 years.

The “20 in 10” plan calls for an increase in fuel-economy standards for motor vehicles that should produce a savings of about 5 percent… with the other 15 percent coming from a new renewable energy standard that will supplement gasoline as a transportation fuel by an increase in the amount of biofuels -- ethanol, E85, biodiesel and the like -- used in the transportation sector.

Our goal is to do more with less rather than to force the American people to do with less because the supplies are not available.

It is my firm belief that America’s business community, academia and the scientific world can and will take the lead in helping us to meet this challenge head on.  It is the role of the Department of Energy to see to it that research into technologies that hold great potential for ultra-clean and secure energy options is accelerated.

Over the last year, we have done considerable work in moving toward commercially competitive cellulosic ethanol, advanced hybrid vehicle technologies, hydrogen fuel cells, solar and wind energy and cutting-edge technologies to burn coal for electricity production with near-zero emissions.  And we will continue to do so in the future.

Over time, we expect this basic and applied research to fundamentally transform the way we produce and use energy in this country and to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources.

My time in business and my time in government - at Commerce, Treasury and now at the Department of Energy - have convinced me it is right for private markets and mature industries to take the lead in developing new technologies while the government should focus more exclusively on what it can and should do to enable private capital to perform in the public interest.  Ultimately, I believe, the transition to a more energy efficient U.S. economy will happen as a result of changes that arise largely from the private sector, in some cases with government support.

The marketplace can move faster than government, can accommodate and absorb breakthroughs in technology more quickly and, overall, has better access to information.   And we are seeking the advice and counsel of industry leaders, as you have provide to me today, to tell us what we should be doing, what the best use of our efforts and of the taxpayers’ dollars can be.  Your report represents a significant effort in that regard.

I believe it would also be helpful if you would, as a second step, do all that you can to ensure that policy makers, opinion leaders, academics and business leaders are informed of your findings.  The data you have assembled and the conclusions you draw are very important contributions to the ongoing discussion of energy policy and, in my opinion, should be shared widely.

I thank you for your time, your effort and your attention.  I hope you agree with me that the President is correct when he says America must move quickly down the road to greater energy efficiency, the diversification of energy supplies and suppliers and a reduced reliance on energy imports.

If we act boldly, if we encourage reasonable risks within a stable policy framework, I think we can do all these things.  And I look to you, to the private markets, to profitably invest in our energy future and to make these changes possible.

The government should and will be available to provide funding for the basic and applied research needed to develop new technologies needed to address critical national concerns.  And we can be counted on, I hope, to create incentives that will help push promising technologies to commercialization.  And we will create, through investment, legislation and reasonable regulation, a stable policy environment that reduces uncertainty and minimizes risk over the longer term.

The best role for government is to support private initiatives, maintain a stable legal and regulatory environment and bring people together, as we have done through the NPC.  Once again, as has been the case so many times in the past, the National Petroleum Council has provided the American people with a necessary and useful service.

For myself, as well as for the President, I thank you.

Location:
Washington, DC

Media contact(s):
Anne Kolton, (202) 586-4940