The energy industry's positive public image: An oxymoron?

摘要

FOR AN INDUSTRY that fuels the world economy, ensuring that the US and Western European public can continue the plush, cozy lifestyles they take for granted, we sure rank low in the eyes of that affluent public. Our industry enjoys public approval just a notch above trial lawyers and used-car salesmen, according to survey data developed by Wirthlin Worldwide for the American Petroleum Institute. This information was presented at the IADC/SPE Drilling Conference, 2-4 March in Dallas, as part of a 3-part Plenary Session examining the topic "Changing Our Image for Long-term Growth". The statistics reveal, somewhat astonishingly, that we are to some extent a victim of our own success. That is, the oil and gas industry has proven itself so adept that we are taken for granted. Joe Public is smug in the belief, for starters, that a convenient network of gasoline stations will always stand ready to pump a steady stream of petrol, that he may roar down the thoroughfares blissfully unaware of the process behind that filled tank.