API welcomes bipartisan effort to examine attacks on U.S. energy infrastructure
WASHINGTON, October 23, 2017 – API welcomed a bipartisan letter, led by Congressman Ken Buck, R-Colo., sent today by 84 members of Congress urging U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to protect against the sabotage of oil and natural gas pipelines, such as the dangerous tactics taken by extremists in October 2016 to illegally shut off several cross border pipelines.
“Safety is our industry’s core value, and any illegal or dangerous effort to undermine safety and bring harm to the environment and communities should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said API Midstream and Industry Operations Group Director Robin Rorick. “We take these attacks very seriously, and we welcome the bipartisan efforts in Congress to strengthen our nation’s infrastructure that delivers the energy Americans demand every day.”
The bipartisan Congressional letter reinforces API’s efforts to engage with the Administration, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the Transportation Security Administration, on the need for effective deterrence against the willful disruption of and damage to pipeline infrastructure.
“A key component of securing our nation’s energy infrastructure is ensuring that law enforcement has the tools needed to prosecute those who attack it,” Rorick said. “We appreciate this bipartisan effort and look forward to working with lawmakers and law enforcement in protecting our industry’s personnel, the environment and communities across the country.”
Click here to view the letter.
API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 10.3 million U.S. jobs and nearly 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 625 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 40 million Americans.
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