Salazar: Drilling and conservation are compatible

After taking a tour of the oil drilling going on in North Dakota’s booming Bakken formation Tuesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told reporters a commitment to conservation and to oil and gas development can go hand in hand. There is a “huge connection” between the two, he says, because oil and gas drilling—particularly offshore in the Gulf of Mexico—has delivered royalty revenue to the federal government that is used for conservation and recreation programs, The Houston Chronicle reports. A portion of offshore revenue from drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is dedicated to those efforts. The Interior Department is preparing to propose new regulations governing wells drilled on federal land. Currently 90% of them are stimulated using hydraulic fracturing. The rule, which could be unveiled later this month, is expected to include new mandates governing well design and integrity, as well as requirements for companies to disclose the ingredients of the fluids they pump into the ground as part of the “fracking” process. Salazar says the Obama administration supports hydraulic fracturing “as a technological positive that has allowed us to move forward with the kind of robust oil and gas development that we’re seeing all across the country.” He pledges the new rule would be a set of “common-sense” requirements. “Our hope is that by approaching hydraulic fracturing in a way that creates confidence among the American public, it won’t become the Achilles heel to the oil and gas industry,” Salazar says.