PESA and eight fellow trade associations joined in support of maintaining areas of the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Alaska as part of the U.S. offshore oil and gas leasing program for 2017-2022 (“5-Year Program“).
In comments submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the joint trade groups the importance of offshore oil and gas development to energy security and economic growth and the strong evidence supporting continuing to include these areas for lease under the 5-Year Program.
“We fully support keeping the Proposed Program as is with no additional areas being removed from future leasing consideration,” said the Joint Trades. “Considerable acreage has already been excluded in previous stages of the planning process, especially in the Atlantic, eastern Gulf of Mexico, and Alaska OCS. The decisions made regarding what areas are available for leasing will have long-term implications for our nation’s energy security, prospects for job creation, and government revenue generation.”
Areas off the Atlantic, eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Alaska OCS were removed from leasing earlier in the 5-Year Program’s development process. Activists tied to the “Keep it in the Ground” movement are arguing for removal of even more development areas.
It takes 10-15 years for energy resources from offshore areas to be developed, and maintaining future opportunities for exploration and production is key to energy security and continued innovation and economic growth.
