Survey: state ranks no. 1 for petroleum investment.(Inside Business)

Arkansas ranks No. 1 for oil and gas investment, according to an international survey of petroleum executives and managers released by the Fraser Institute, an independent research organization in Calgary, Alberta.

Arkansas ranked third out of 81 jurisdictions last year, but it leapfrogged Alabama into the No. 1 spot out of 143 jurisdictions ranked in the 2009 edition of the Fraser Institute's Global Petroleum Survey 2009. The survey is available at www.fraseramerica.org.

Along with Arkansas, U.S. states claimed nine of the top 10 spots in this year's survey as follows: Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, and Indiana.

The Global Petroleum Survey 2009 is administered each year to petroleum executives to help measure and rank the barriers to investment of 143 oil and gas producing regions.

"The dominance of U.S. states as favorable jurisdictions for oil and gas development once again shows how the industry values stability and a clear and transparent regulatory environment," said Gerry Angevine, Fraser Institute senior economist and coordinator of the annual petroleum survey.

But some states where the oil and gas industry has played a significant economic role in the past are being viewed with increasing skepticism by the industry these days.

"Investors prefer to avoid jurisdictions with high royalty rates and costly and time-consuming regulations.

Other factors being equal, competitive tax and regulatory regimes can attract investment and generate substantial economic benefits," Angevine said.

"Policy makers should recognize that overly strident regulations and anti-energy sentiment can be costly in terms of lost revenue and jobs," he said.

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