API Urges BOEM Not To Cut Already-Restrictive Offshore Leasing Plan

The federal government’s proposal for future offshore oil and natural gas leasing is already too restrictive and should not be reduced any further, according to comments API submitted to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently.

“America’s energy security depends on our ability to produce oil and natural gas here in the U.S.,” said API Director of Upstream Erik Milito. “The administration should not make the map or the list of lease sales any smaller. Too many promising areas are already excluded, taking off the table hundreds of thousands of potential jobs and tens of billions of dollars in government revenue.”

API also encouraged BOEM to hold the currently proposed Atlantic lease sale a year or two earlier and to add a second Atlantic sale to the program.

“Safe and responsible energy development in the Atlantic will strengthen local economies with new job opportunities and private investment,” said Milito. “The Obama administration should carefully consider America’s long-term energy needs because these decisions will impact the country for a long time.”

API’s comments were co-signed by the National Ocean Industries Association, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, the American Exploration & Production Council, the International Association of Geophysical Contractors, the Petroleum Equipment and Services Association, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.

API represents all segments of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Its more than 625 members produce, process, and distribute most of the nation’s energy. The industry also supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy.