Thomas Skains Quotations

We are talking about activity 100 miles or more offshore that will not be seen, heard or smelled.

Prices will come down only when we increase the supply of natural gas in the marketplace to meet the growing demand for our product.

The average residential customer is paying roughly twice as much for natural gas as he did in 1999. These high prices strain the budgets of all homeowners and, even worse, many low-income households must choose between heat and other life necessities.

In fact, higher natural gas prices hurt our business. We want what our customers want: adequate supplies at affordable prices.

We accept full responsibility. Our inability to timely respond to our customers is unacceptable.

I urge you to act here and now to begin to rectify the natural gas supply and demand imbalance. Opening Lease Sale 181 in the Gulf of Mexico is an important step in the right direction. There is absolutely no question we must do this. Natural gas is being produced in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible fashion. We are talking about activity 100 miles or more offshore that will not be seen, heard or smelled. No tankers, no barges, no spills. I live in a coastal state, and I appreciate the need to protect our beaches, but I know this is no threat.