Rob:  With gas prices at record highs and continuing instability in the oil producing Middle East, interest is higher than ever in America taking control of its energy future.  This week, we look at innovative solutions and what’s on the horizon for Oklahoma’s emerging energy sector.  And we begin with natural gas.
Jessica:  With the roller coaster ups and downs of petroleum prices, Americans nationwide are often wondering one thing.
Dan Boyd:  Is the price going to stay up?  And that basically is determined by what demand does.
Jessica:  But Dan Boyd says beneath all the gas price hoopla, is an Oklahoma treasure that could solve energy concerns, a booming natural gas industry.
Boyd:  Our production peaked in 1927, and natural gas has since picked up the slack and now represents 80% of our production on a barrel of oil equivalency.  So now, it is the dominant energy source in the state, by far.
Jessica:  Good news for this oil producing state, putting Oklahoma in the forefront of environmental challenges and foreign oil dependence.
Boyd:  When you factor in the fact that Oklahoma tends to be gas prone in the first place, you know the delay in actually starting the gas industry, and then the fact that there is so much more there; if you look at it on a global basis, you can essentially assume that reserves at this stage are infinite for natural gas.  The only thing that keeps gas from overseas reaching us is lack of infrastructure.  
Jessica:  And Dan says, with its multiple uses, natural gas could be a big win for our state’s future needs.
Boyd:  Natural gas, you can turn into liquids, into a very clean burning diesel.  You can substitute it for, say, coal in a coal burning power plant.  
Jessica:  Making natural gas, a natural fit for Oklahoma’s future.