Offshore staff
WASHINGTON, D.C.– The American Petroleum Institute (API) has released comments to urge the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to consider all outer continental shelf areas for inclusion in the government’s offshore oil and natural gas leasing program for 2017-2022.
API Senior Policy Advisor Andy Radford said: “Expanding opportunities for US offshore energy production would create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, raise billions of dollars for the government, and strengthen America’s international diplomacy and national security. As the government works on the next leasing program, it should examine all areas with the potential to generate jobs and new revenue by advancing America’s energy renaissance.”
American voters – including majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents – supportoffshore drilling and increasing US oil and natural gas production, according to recent polling by Harris Poll. However, most voters do not think the federal government does enough to encourage the development of oil and natural gas resources in the US.
“Decisions the government makes now will impact our economy and our ability to exert diplomatic influence for decades,” said Radford. “Opening new offshore areas to exploration and development could empower the US and our allies by shifting the geopolitical balance.
“To remain a global energy superpower, the US must continue to explore for and produce new domestic supplies of oil and natural gas. We urge BOEM to keep existing areas available for leasing and include new areas in the Atlantic, easternGulf of Mexico, and the Pacific.”
08/14/2014
