EnCana, a major player in the Piceance Basin of western Colorado, said Chinese workers are cheaper and better educated. But the move could be controversial in Washington, where politicians feel uneasy about allowing Chinese workers to acquire access to U.S.-based oil and gas facilities.

"I am totally against the Chinese government running the jobs in our country," said Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo, whose 3rd Congressional District is most affected by drilling. "With the Chinese government getting involved, it's not even a competitive business model. Outsourcing has already claimed millions of jobs. We cannot allow that to happen within our own borders. Rural communities have been hit hard enough. We need to keep American jobs in America."

U.S. lawmakers are already increasingly concerned over the China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s interest to purchase the U.S. oil and gas conglomerate Unocal. The U.S. House of Representatives voted last week to block China's cash bid of $18.5 billion. The 328-91 vote came hours after China cited U.S. "political interference" in what it called a purely commercial matter.

Colorado drilling rates have nearly doubled since last year, said EnCana officials. Rates increased from $8,500 per day to $14,000 per day in one year.

EnCana is also considering constructing the rigs in China and then importing them along with the Chinese workers to the United States.

"Some operators in that part of the world have explored the

(Chinese) option," said Alan Boras, a spokesman for EnCana. "It was mentioned (by EnCana executives to analysts) as a way to increase capacity of the rig fleet in the United States."

But another EnCana official, Almas Kassam, said: "It's an option we're aware of. We're not formally pursuing anything."

"It's our understanding the Chinese have the rigs and the crews and are trying to market that capacity," added Boras. "It's not imminent for EnCana and we're not working on a specific deal."

The oil and gas well services sector in Colorado is struggling to meet with demands for new rigs and workers to operate them. As consumption of oil and natural gas grows, the effects have also been felt in Canada and globally.

Although China's increased active participation in the U.S. oil and gas industry is prickly in Washington right now, Boras said that because Chinese companies would be filling a void that is in dire need, U.S. policymakers would concede on this one.

In search of lower costs, EnCana is in a search of securing long-term contracts. "We can manage costs better by locking in for longer terms," said Boras. "And given the lifespan of our resource, we should be able to lock in. As you adapt drilling technology, you learn. And if you can reduce drilling at a well from, say, 20 days to 15, then you can generate great economies of scale."

But as Chinese workers gain access to U.S. oil and gas facilities, policymakers worry over trading technology such as rig prototypes for instance, whereby a Chinese manufacturer acquires know-how from EnCana's U.S.-based operations, Frederick Cedoz, vice-president at GWEST LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based energy policy consulting firm, told Canada's National Post.

The field is EnCana's most lucrative prospect and has a capacity of approximately 4.6 trillion cubic feet.

"If they were just talking about bringing in foreign workers for the sake of lowering costs, then I think it could be grounds for pretty substantial opposition. But it's because the industry is running pretty much flat out," Andrew Potter, CIBC World Markets analyst told the National Post.

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