American Petroleum Institute (API) Executive Vice President Louis Finkel called for U.S. officials to change the federal offshore leasing program to allow for further production of oil and natural gas to correspond with the nation's position as a global energy titan.
“The United States needs forward-looking energy policy,” Finkel said. “The U.S. has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, thanks to development that has taken place mostly on private and state lands. At the same time, thanks to industry efforts, methane emissions are down significantly, as well as carbon and other air emissions, all while energy production has been going up.”
Finkel made these comments recently at a press briefing on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which only designates offshore Alaska for oil and natural gas production, with 87 percent of federal offshore areas off limits to energy exploration and extraction.
“Leaving out offshore Alaska would put the U.S. at a serious global competitive disadvantage, considering that Russia, Iran, Norway and other countries are moving rapidly to develop oil and gas resources,” Finkel said. “We must continue to think ahead, explore and develop new areas to protect U.S. energy security for generations to come. American consumers, American businesses and future generations need energy programs from the Interior Department to align with today’s energy realities.”
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