mr. burkhardt? >> well, the -- on the natural gas side, prices are quite low because of this revolution and shale gas production. but what we're seeing is more companies shift towards liquids or producing oil. and one of the factors that's influencing the pace of investment is the rise in costs, finding the right people, the right equipment. there's not a limitless supply. there's, in fact, a missing generation of folks in the petroleum industry because from about 1986 to earlier this decade, oil prices were low. the industry was consolidating. there weren't many people entering the industry at that time. and as prices have risen, oil prices have risen. and activity has picked up particularly in this country. there's been a great deal of pressure in finding the right people and getting the right equipment to the right places. so that's a significant challenge. >> so the testimony this morning, that's interesting, you all talked about the fact that because there is both wet gas and oil in some of the

mr. burkhardt, in your written testimony, you specifically talk to the issue of the denial of the permit for the keystone excel pipeline. you said that raises the level of uncertainty regarding the long-term growth and disposition of major sources of world supply growth including the canadian oil sands and the american on-shore output. i wondered if you could expand on that and specifically with regard to u.s. oil production. >> sure. canada, over the last decade, has become the most important source of foreign oil to the united states by far. and the oil sands has been the principal reason for that. and so the oil sands are not just an important source of supply to the u.s. market. they've been a major source of global oil supply growth. in fact, if you look at the oil sands alone, the u.s. imports about as much oil just from the oil sands as we do from mexico or some other leading suppliers. the denial of the keystone permit does raise a question about the future pace of growth of oil sands production where it is sent. it is leaning many canadian decision-makers to put more effort into