Pete Domenici: “this week, Senator Bingaman, Senator Akaka and I returned from Baton Rogue. We went down to see and learn firsthand…”

“this week, Senator Bingaman, Senator Akaka and I returned from Baton Rogue. We went down to see and learn firsthand about Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damage to the energy infrastructure. There is a great deal of work to be done, and there is a great deal of courage and confidence that it can be done. We need to find ways to make that recovery go right. Yesterday, my committee held a hearing where we heard from energy industry witnesses who have been impacted by the hurricanes. The main message of that hearing was we are in troubled energy times, particularly on the natural gas front. The CEO of DOW Chemical Company painted a very bleak picture for American industry. Our industries that rely on natural gas both as a fuel and a feedstock have hard choices before them about how and where they will base their operations. In the U.S., natural gas prices are close to $14. In China, it is less than $5. In Saudi Arabia, it is about $1. If we translated gasoline prices to the level of increases faced by natural gas--we would be seeing $7-a-gallon gasoline at the pump right now. At DOW's St. Charles petrochemical complex that I saw in Baton Rogue, I learned that every $1 increase in the cost of natural gas means an additional $35 million a year in fuel costs for that single facility. Our manufacturers have to compete in global markets. At those prices, they can't.…”