Precision drilling, better technology and the exploitation of unconventional energy sources can make American energy independence achievable, Harold Hamm, Continental ResourcesCEO, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box”on Tuesday.
“It comes from drilling wells,” Hamm said. “You have to go out there and poke holes in the ground. And basically the technology that we have today to go down two miles, turn right, and drill two miles farther and hit your target in there, we do that every day."
New technology has opened up unconventional energy sources for exploration. “We've been producing the mobile portion of oil on earth for the past 160 years," the Continental Resources CEO said. "So now today we can go to the immobile portion and it's about a third larger than the mobile portion.”
The public appears to agree that energy independence is getting closer. Citing a recent Harris poll, Hamm said nine out of ten Americans believe that energy independence is not only within our grasp in the next ten years but something we ought to strive for.
“I start talking about American energy independence two years ago and at that time, hardly anybody was on the bandwagon with me,” Hamm said.