API Executive Vice President Marty Durbin applauded North Carolina’s Legislature, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) for enacting a law that allows for hydraulic fracturing to develop the state’s natural gas resources:

“After a commendable state study of shale energy issues, active public input and thorough deliberation, North Carolina has set in motion a process that will lead to the creation of high-paying jobs and a better energy future for the state.

“Safe and responsible development of natural gas will provide ample supplies of energy for North Carolina families while boosting job growth and generating revenue for the government.”

The oil and natural gas industry supports more than 135,000 jobs in North Carolina and a recent study shows that, with the right policies, more than 40,000 additional jobs can be created throughout the state by 2020.

API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.