The American Petroleum Institute (API) is urging the Obama administration to use the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) 2017-2022 offshore program to promote further U.S. oil and natural gas development, especially in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Rising U.S. production has dramatically increased our ability to protect consumers and the U.S. economy from energy shocks, even within a low-price environment,” API Group Director of Upstream and Industry Operations Erik Milito said. “Forward-looking energy policy recognizes long lead times needed for offshore energy development. The nation’s long-term energy security can only be ensured with a lasting commitment to expanding offshore oil and natural gas development to new areas.”
API highlighted recent projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration that estimates production in the Gulf of Mexico will increase from its 2010 figures of 30 percent of the nation’s oil production and 11 percent of its natural gas to record highs in 2017. Because of this, a BOEM analysis determined that none of the proposed areas for its five-year program should be excluded based on the price of oil and natural gas.
“Too many promising areas are already excluded from the proposal, taking off the table thousands of potential jobs and billions of dollars in potential government revenue,” Milito said. "Knowing that oil and natural gas will be needed for many more decades to come, the Department of the Interior should promote robust development of U.S. offshore energy resources and recognize the Arctic and Gulf of Mexico as core components of the five-year program.”
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