Interior Department
A pattern of delays
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Is the Interior Department really giving a fair and balanced review of the properties up for consideration for oil and gas leasing? Or, as the data we posted earlier this week suggest, is it engaged in a pattern of blocking any progress with repeated delays and endless red tape?
In support of the second theory, you might want to submit the recent delays to allow drilling off the coast of Virginia as Exhibit A. Except that there have been so many other instances of stalling tactics all around the country, that it’s getting hard to count them all. Far from an isolated example of the country’s Interior Department blocking responsible development of natural resources, this latest delay — in what would have been the first Atlantic coast drilling project to get underway since the ban ended in 1998 – suggests more of the same. Ban or no ban, lots of projects are still being blocked.
You don’t necessarily think Big Oil when you think of the state of Virginia. But like so many states all around the country, Virginia’s estimated reserves are substantial. The three million acre swath located 50 miles offshore that was to have been leased next year, holds an estimated 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Now, the Interior Department says any lease sales will be delayed until at least 2012, and may not go forward at all.
Tags: American energy, domestic production, Interior Department, Obama, offshore resources, offshore Virginia, oil and gas, virginia
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One year later, actions speak louder than words
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
A few weeks ago, when we were basking in a festive holiday spirit, we made a long list of all the things CEA and its supporters had achieved in 2009. But holiday cheer inevitably gives way to the reality of the cold dark winter months, when optimism is replaced by a pressing sense of all the work yet to be done.
This year, mid-January has also brought the anniversary of President Obama’s first year in office, and as the Institute for Energy Research recently concluded, the new policies set over the past 365 days have clearly not supported a strong domestic energy industry.
For instance:
–In 2009, the Interior Department collected only a very small fraction of oil and gas lease sales it had completed in 2008.
–Less than 3% of the available public lands are leased for oil and gas development. Under Obama’s Interior Department fewer acres – both onshore and off – were leased in 2009 than in any previous year.
One story that covered these new findings quoted CEA’s David Holt blaming excessive red tape. “No administration in history has done more to ensure producers do less,” Holt said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Pyle, who heads the Institute for Energy Research, stresses that energy policy cannot be viewed in a vacuum. In this review of Obama’s first year in office, Pyle notes that the President’s efforts to create jobs have suffered from a focus on “unproven technology that is not economically viable.” Such investments have created only a small number of jobs, compared to what could be created by loosening the restrictions on oil and gas exploration and production, he said.
Just how many jobs can a strong domestic energy industry support? As American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard outlined in a recent speech, the U.S. oil industry directly supports 9.2 million American jobs and created millions of new jobs over the past decade.
As Obama enters his second year with unemployment higher than it has been in a generation and growing cries for aggressive job creation efforts, let’s hope that his administration starts to see the devastating economic impact of its energy policy and works to help ensure that Americans can have both jobs and affordable energy.
Tags: Barack Obama, David Holt, domestict energy, Institute for Energy Research, Interior Department, Jack Gerard, oil & gas, oil and gas, oil leases, public lands, Thomas Pyle
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CEA: New Interior Dept. Rules Will Discourage Domestic Energy Production, Deepen Foreign Dependence
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
HOUSTON – January 6, 2010 Earlier today Interior secretary Ken Salazar announced a series of new federal leasing rules that aim to impede, and in some cases deny, the safe and responsible exploration of energy resources on taxpayer-owned lands. Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) president David Holt issued the following statement in response:
“Adding layers of additional and unnecessary bureaucratic red-tape to the federal oil and gas leasing process will result in less homegrown energy for American families, seniors and small businesses. At the same time, erecting these needless roadblocks for safely producing American energy will not only lead to more expensive and less stable prices for struggling consumers, but it will also deepen our nation’s dependence on foreign and often unfriendly regions of the world to meet our growing demands and to keep our economy moving.
“With gas prices once again on the rise – and home heating costs expected to continue to spike throughout this severe winter season – policymakers in Washington should be committing their efforts to help stabilize and drive down energy prices through responsibility developing all of our energy resources – not discouraging domestic production, especially our vast oil shale reserves in the Intermountain-West and offshore, particularly in Alaska’s energy-rich seas.
“Responsibly unlocking our domestic energy reserves will help create thousands of good-paying jobs at a time when they’re most needed. And CEA is eager to work with Secretary Salazar and Congress to help craft commonsense energy policies that promote stable prices for all consumers, create jobs and drive down our nation’s foreign energy dependence through developing all of our resources – including alternatives and renewables – safely and effectively.”
Tags: domestic energy, energy security, foreign dependence, Interior Department, Salazar
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Alaska in balance
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
To fully appreciate the significance of the Interior Department’s long-awaited decision earlier this week to allow Shell Oil to drill three exploratory wells in the contested Chukchi Sea, you need to keep in mind the recent struggles and uncertainties that the oil industry in the state of Alaska has faced.
Last month, ConocoPhillips announced that for the first time in 40 years, it had no plans to drill new exploratory wells in Alaska. BP, meanwhile, reportedly cut its 2010 development budget for Alaska by 15%. Volume on the trans-Alaska pipeline is way down from its 1988 peak, reflecting a failure of newer fields to offset the decline from Prudhoe Bay. And as capacity approaches the point at which operating the pipeline would no longer be feasible, thousands of jobs, as well as the future of the state’s main industry hang in the balance.
All of these developments are part of a general uncertainty over the future of the Alaskan oil production. The uncertainty comes not from any doubts about large volumes of untapped reserves in the state: By conservative estimates, Alaska’s coastal waters hold 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Rather, questions persist over our ability to access those reserves.
The December 7 Interior Department ruling allowing Shell to drill in Chukchi resolves a longstanding dispute in one of the state’s most oil rich regions. An appeals court ruling earlier this year had allowed some other oil and gas projects in Alaska that had been initiated during the Bush Administration, but then held up under Obama, to go forward.
The Chukchi Sea is considered one of the most underdeveloped sources of oil in the U.S. Shell is eager to begin drilling. Alaska Governor Sean Parnell is also looking forward to the project getting underway. “Alaskans need these jobs and Shell is well prepared to explore for and develop oil and gas basins critical to our nation’s security,” he said in a statement.
However, it is worth stressing, as we’ve said before on this blog, that oil majors in no way regard this, or any other favorable ruling, as a license to drill with abandon. In fact, Shell won approval to drill in Chukchi only after it presented a proposal that addressed environmental concerns, in part by tightening the pollution controls on its drill ship. It was a costly and time consuming investment that should underscore the industry’s interest in Alaskan oil and gas, but its desire to do right by the state over the long haul.
Tags: Alaska, CEA, Consumer Energy Alliance, domestic energy, drilling, Interior Department, oil and gas, Shell Oil
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CEA: Alaskans Turn Out in Force to Support Offshore Energy Exploration; At Hearing in Anchorage, America’s Citizen Energy Experts Turn Out En Masse to Make Their Voices Heard
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
ANCHORAGE— April 14, 2009 Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) president David Holt issued the following statement today after Alaskan consumers, service providers, union members, producers and transporters of energy came out in large numbers to attend and participate in the Interior Department’s third public meeting on the future of American energy policy.
“Alaskans know what it takes to produce the energy that powers America – a contribution the rest of the nation continues to benefit from more than 40 years after the first commercial discovery at Prudhoe Bay. That’s why it’s appropriate Secretary Salazar would come out to Anchorage today, allowing him a chance to hear firsthand how responsible energy exploration can co-exist with, and even complement, sound stewardship of our environment – all while creating and sustaining thousands of good-paying, family-supporting jobs.”
A study released by the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) in December found that responsible energy exploration in Alaska accounts for more than 108,000 high-paying jobs in the state — jobs that are responsible for generating more than $7 billion in individual wages.
Dave Harbour, a member of CEA’s Board of Advisors and a former commissioner of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, also testified at the hearing, saying: “America can properly produce its offshore wealth in a way that will directly and quickly begin benefiting consumers everywhere. Beginning to explore for, and then produce, America’s trillions of cubic feet of clean burning natural gas resources and billions of barrels of prospective oil resources will transform America.”
A recent report issued by the Interior Department shows that these undeveloped reserves of the OCS represent about four times the US proved reserves of oil and natural gas. The report also underscores the need for more analysis of what is actually available offshore — analysis that is likely to show a great deal more oil and gas offshore than currently projected. According to the federal government, more than 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie undeveloped off our shores in the OCS. That amounts to enough energy to replace 50 years worth of OPEC oil.
Before any offshore resources can be explored, the Interior Department must include prospective areas in its “five year plan” for offshore energy development. Today’s hearing in Anchorage is the third in a series of four public meetings designed to provide a platform for the public to discuss and debate the agency’s plan. Previous hearings took place in Atlantic City and New Orleans. A final hearing is slated for Thursday in San Francisco.
Tags: Alaska, CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, energy, exploration, Interior Department, natural gas, offshore, oil, OPEC, Secretary Salazar
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CEA: New Jersey sends clear message to Interior Secretary; Let us develop our offshore energy resources
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
ATLANTIC CITY- April 6, 2009 Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) President David Holt issued the following statement today as a packed meeting room in the Atlantic City Convention Center saw hundreds turn out in support of responsible energy exploration in the outer continental shelf (OCS):
“Secretary Salazar came face to face today with the very people who would benefit most immediately from allowing energy exploration along the OCS,” said Holt. “Responsible offshore energy development will create jobs, generate taxpayer revenue and boost economic activity in New Jersey, and in all the other states that share our abundant energy resource base. By approving a plan to allow offshore oil and natural gas exploration and wind development as part of a comprehensive energy proposal, the Obama Administration can stand with the majority of Americans who understand that developing our abundant resources can help get us out of the current economic crisis.”
According to the federal government, more than 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie undeveloped off our shores in the OCS. That amounts to enough energy to replace 50 years worth of OPEC oil.
A recent report issued by the Interior Department shows that these undeveloped reserves of the OCS represent about 4 times America’s proven reserves of oil and natural gas. The report also underscores the need for more analysis of what is actually available offshore – analysis that is likely to show a great deal more oil and gas available offshore than currently projected.
Before any offshore resources can be explored, the Interior Department must include prospective areas in its “five year plan” for offshore energy development. Today’s hearing in Atlantic City is the first in a series of four public meetings discussing the agency’s plan. Future hearings will take place in New Orleans (April 8), Anchorage (April 14) and San Francisco (April 16).
In addition to strong citizen turn out, public officials and elected leaders also spoke at today’s hearing. One of them was U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), chairman of the Western Caucus. “If these public hearings do anything at all,” Bishop testified, “I hope they will answer this question: Do we want to continue to grow more dependent on other nations to meet our energy needs, or do we want to do what is necessary to achieve greater control of our economic destiny? It’s time we took the cap off the OCS.”
Former congressman John Peterson (R-Pa.) also made the trip to Atlantic City, reminding the panel that “we are the only country in the developed world to lock up these vital resources away, and thus deny reasonable access to the 300 million Americans who own them.” He added: “I strongly support all types of renewable energy and strong tax incentives for all of us to conserve our energy use. I believe it is equally important that we increase our production of oil and gas to stop the sky rocketing foreign dependence on unstable unfriendly countries that are not now, and may not ever be, our friends.”
Tags: CEA, CEA Energy Grass Roots, Consumer Energy Alliance, consumer energy alliance grass roots, consumer energy alliance grassroots, Department of the Interior, energy, exploration, Interior Department, natural gas, Obama, ocs, offshore energy, oil, OPEC, renewable energy, Secretary Salazar, Western Caucus
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