Remove Obstacles to American Energy

May 13, 2015

Below is an email send by Jack Gerard, President and CEO, American Petroleum Institute

U.S. energy demand is projected to grow 12 percent by 2040, while global energy needs will increase 56 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). More than half of that demand will be met by oil and natural gas.

The more demand we can supply with U.S. energy, the better – for our economy and for our energy security. Yet federal policy seems headed in the opposite direction. Production has dropped 10 percent for oil and 31 percent for natural gas on government-controlled lands since 2010 and is off-limits entirely in 87 percent of federal offshore acreage. The following common sense policies could change that and generate significant job creation and economic growth:

• Strengthen offshore access: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s offshore oil and natural gas leasing plan for 2017-2022 is too restrictive. It excludes promising areas in the Pacific, Arctic and Eastern Gulf of Mexico and includes just one potential lease sale in the Atlantic. Expanding offshore access could create nearly 840,000 new American jobs and lead to production of more than 3.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

• Remove obstacles to Arctic energy development: The Beaufort and Chukchi Seas contain vast oil and natural gas resources – possibly more than the Atlantic and Pacific coasts combined. Developing these resources could generate as many as 50,000 jobs, according to one study, and significantly boost our energy security. While other Arctic nations such as Russia and Norway are aggressively developing Arctic resources, the U.S. risks falling behind. Four lease sales included in the last leasing plan were cancelled, and only three are penciled in for the new plan.
• Avoid raising costs and increasing red tape onshore: With production on government-controlled land already lagging far behind production on state and private lands, piling on additional bureaucratic hurdles is the last thing we need. Yet, just in the past few weeks, the administration released duplicative new hydraulic fracturing regulations and took preliminary steps toward raising royalties and fees. Federal policy should encourage production on public lands, not drive it away.

Seventy-seven percent of American voters support increased production of America’s oil and natural gas resources, including 92 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Independents and 66 percent of Democrats. Policymakers should follow their lead.

Sincerely,

Jack Gerard
President and CEO
API