U.S. Dept. of Interior urged to fully leverage offshore energy resources

The American Petroleum Institute today joined more than 100 other energy trade groups and organizations in urging the Department of the Interior to develop a new five-year offshore leasing program that fully leverages the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf as a secure source of affordable, reliable energy.

“Revising the five-year offshore leasing program to take full advantage of our rich offshore resources through expanded access and development in the Gulf of America, Alaska, Pacific, and Atlantic will help sustain America’s growing energy advantage for decades to come,” the groups wrote in comments to Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

“America’s oil and natural gas producers are critical to our economy and the energy resources they provide will be needed far into the future. … The administration must reject previous policies that blocked and restricted lease sales and closed off planning areas. A new, robust and more predictable five-year offshore leasing program should be developed that includes expanded access and consistent lease sales, which reflects the reality of global energy demand and the many long-term benefits of OCS production.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed BOEM in April to begin the process of developing a new schedule for offshore oil and gas lease sales. The development of a new program follows the previous administration’s disregard for the offshore development process, including the release of the weakest offshore program in history.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. offshore production accounts for 14% of total U.S. crude oil production, or nearly 2 million bopd. Robust offshore oil and natural gas development could generate over $8 billion in additional government revenue by 2040.