API Calls for U.S. to Open Offshore Areas for Development

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has released comments urging 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.

“Expanding opportunities for U.S. 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,” said API senior policy advisor Andy Radford. “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.”

API notes that, according to a recent Harris Poll it commissioned, American voters, including majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and independents, support offshore drilling and increasing U.S. oil and natural gas production. However, most voters do not think the federal government does enough to encourage development of energy resources.

“Decisions the government makes now will impact our economy and our ability to exert diplomatic influence for decades,” added Radford. “Opening new offshore areas to exploration and development could empower the U.S. and our allies by shifting the geopolitical balance. To remain a global energy superpower, the U.S. 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, eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific.”