U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, says the average American assumes that energy is just there-but E&P industry veterans know it doesn't work that way. The energy business involves risky propositions and complex operations, and Barton says the American public should know about them. Thanks to a "market-based" energy sector-unlike the government-based upstream industry in countries such as Mexico-North America can look to private capital for financing energy development, Barton told an audience at Baker Botts LLP's annual conference on oil and gas law in Houston recently. As quickly as demand for oil and gas is rising, the public needs to better comprehend the uphill climb facing the industry to meet that demand. "We're using more Btu per year than we're producing, so almost 60%-65% of it must now be imported. It shows no signs of slacking. On the oil side, the world uses about 85 million barrels per day, and this may go up to 120," Barton said. Where's the extra oil coming from? "If you're Boone Pickens you're on the speculative side, but if you're Lee Raymond, you're optimistic." Though President Bush has recently announced an energized focus on alternative energy solutions, the nation still has to look at oil and gas as resources, Barton said. "The U.S. is the only remaining super-power, and we have one of the most efficient economies in the world. We need to strengthen the energy economy and make sure the oil and gas markets stay strong for another 20 to 30 years. Though I support research for new sources, I won't bet the farm on it and completely move away from traditional sources." Meanwhile, the industry does a poor job of telling the public and government officials about its various challenges in the business, he said. "Many chief executives are good people but they tend to not be 'people people.' They don't engage in the public dialogue and they wind up getting some bad press because of it. "If I were a chief executive of a major integrated oil company, I would look at adding refinery expansion, since even if we had the oil, there's no current refining capacity to do anything with it. I would not be ashamed of making profits but I would also show the public all the good energy companies do, especially for the environment."