Awhile back, I encouraged readers to send letters in support of offshore drilling to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) a few months ago Well, it appears that your efforts made a difference!
The (MMS) released its 2010-2015 five-year leasing plan this morning, and it proposes to open new offshore areas to oil and natural gas development. In Appendix A (page 132) the plan also notes that it received 152,000 letters from the general public and 53 percent supported increased offshore oil and natural gas production.
American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard today issued the following statement on the new Interior Department five-year oil and natural gas leasing plan, which proposes lease sales in recently opened areas off the Atlantic, Pacific and Eastern Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf:
“American consumers have been demanding access to the oil and natural gas located off our coasts and the draft proposed five-year plan, with its inclusion of areas that had been off-limits for more than 20 years, is a good step in the right direction. Developing our domestic resources is crucial to getting our nation’s economy back on its feet and getting more Americans back to work in well-paying jobs. A recent study showed that developing the oil and natural gas resources that had been off-limits for decades could bring in nearly two trillion dollars in revenue to federal, state and local governments, which could be used to fund schools, hospitals and other critical services. The study also showed that 160,000 new jobs could be created by 2030 if these resources were developed.Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, issued this statement:
“America’s oil and natural gas companies have proven they can develop resources in an environmentally safe way. It is imperative Congress and the Obama administration allow this plan to move forward so our industry can do what it does best – supply the energy America needs.”
“With the release of this outline today, the federal government is actively positioning itself to confront the failures of the past and take its first meaningful steps toward delivering our country and its people a secure, affordable energy future. As lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to work on a government-directed, ‘green jobs’ plan to stimulate our economy, today’s announcement presents our country with two very different choices: either we can spend massive amounts of taxpayer money on energy that’s less reliable, less affordable, and less powerful, or we can generate massive new revenues for the taxpayer by producing energy that’s more reliable, much more affordable, and significantly more powerful.Of course, a lot can happen before any of these areas are opened to energy exploration and production. Only time will tell whether this nation has the will to produce more of its own domestic energy resources. But you certainly can take credit for helping to move the process in the right direction for all Americans.
“Today’s news is long overdue, but it hardly could have come at a better time for an economy that’s hemorrhaging jobs, searching for revenue, and in desperate need of a long-term energy strategy. Each one of these crises could be confronted and neutralized if we were to put in motion a serious plan to develop even a portion of America ’s abundant offshore energy resources. Today, the outlines of such a plan were finally revealed. It’s now up to the new Congress and incoming administration to see this plan through completion.”
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