API: Oil, gas boom came despite White House efforts

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 (UPI) —

While welcoming a presidential address on the economy, the American Petroleum Institute said more stimulus could come as a result of less burdensome regulation.

API, which represents the interests of the U.S. oil and gas sector, welcomed statements Thursday from President Barack Obama that U.S. economic growth was coming as a result of the shale boom.

"The first cornerstone [of growth] is new investments in the energy and technologies that make America a magnet for good, middle-class jobs," the president said during his speech at Northwestern University in Chicago.

API President Jack Gerard said he appreciated the president recognized the role of energy in economic stimulus.

"But let’s be clear — our energy renaissance has occurred despite White House policies, thanks primarily to the support of private investors and state governors who have worked diligently to support new development," he said.

While imports are down because of shale oil production from states like Texas and North Dakota, API said trade restrictions on crude oil mean the energy sector is not performing as well as it could.

Obama added that "tens of thousands" of people have found work in manufacturing wind turbines and in the installation of solar panels.