Manhattan ? There are still plentiful energy resources around the world, but “pragmatic realities” can get in the way of tapping them, the president of Shell Oil Co. told a Kansas State University audience.

John Hofmeister, a 1969 graduate of Kansas State, spoke Friday as part of the university’s Landon Lecture series. The speech was one of several Hofmeister has delivered during a national tour to focus attention on the oil industry’s perspective on the energy situation.

Hofmeister said the United States is especially rich in natural energy resources.

“We have identified 112 billion barrels of known reserves of oil and gas in the outer continental shelf of this country,” he said, also noting 600-plus trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

However, he said, reaching those resources can be politically controversial because it would involve drilling offshore or in wildlife refuges and other federally protected areas. Shell has the technological know-how to harvest those resources safely and expects to be held accountable for any accidents, he added.

Hofmeister said fossil fuels will drive things for some time.

“The international global economy, whether we like it or not, is predicated on accessing oil and gas energy sources,” he said.