Its a Critical Time for America’s Offshore Energy Future

[bq]”Its truly a turning point for American offshore energy production.”[/bq]

America’s offshore energy future is in peril!

Anti-energy extremists convinced the Obama Administration to ignore public opinion and remove the Atlantic from future oil and natural gas leasing!  Now they’re turning their efforts to the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. 

We need your help to tell the federal government to support Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and Atlantic offshore energy production!  If the government fails to do so, our ability to meet the nation’s energy needs through access to affordable, reliable supplies will be placed in serious jeopardy.

Tell the federal government to make the responsible decision: Maintain the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska in the 2017 – 0222 offshore leasing program and take steps now to add the Atlantic!

Dear President Obama and Secretary Jewell:

I write to urge you to maintain the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Beaufort, Chukchi, and Cook Inlet in the final 2017-2022 offshore oil and natural gas leasing program without any further exclusions or restrictions, as well as to convey my strong opposition to the exclusion of the Atlantic and the need to initiate a new five-year leasing program that provides for early and annual Atlantic lease sales, inform future activity by approving pending Atlantic seismic survey applications, and support efforts to expand revenue-sharing to all states with adjacent offshore oil and gas activity.

The decision to remove any possibility of an Atlantic lease sale during the 2017-2022 leasing program conflicts with the broad support that exists for offshore development as expressed by the Governors, legislators and local officials, stakeholders, and the public and it threatens our long-term energy and economic security.   

It also underscores the critical importance of not further reducing the areas available for leasing in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.  As BOEM acknowledged in the Proposed Program, the Gulf is “one of the richest oil and natural gas regions in the world.”  A source of nearly 20% of the nation’s crude oil supply, the Gulf remains one of America’s greatest energy resources and we must continue to support its safe development.

Alaskan offshore resources are equally important. As the National Petroleum Council stated in its report to Energy Sec. Ernest Moniz last year, the U.S. government must take steps now to facilitate exploration opportunities in the Alaskan Arctic in order to offset an expected decline in Lower 48 production in the coming decades and ensure the nation’s long-term energy security. 

To ensure that all states are adequately positioned to bear costs related to development in adjacent waters and have access to all the benefits associated with offshore oil and gas activity, the federal government should also support the expansion of revenue-sharing to all states with adjacent offshore oil and gas activity.

A sensible energy policy must include our offshore resources to ensure that the U.S. economy and consumers have access to domestic energy for years to come.  As the Energy Department recently noted, the contribution of oil and gas to the nation’s energy portfolio will be just as much, if not more, in 2040 than it was in 2015.

Recognizing the significant safety advances in recent years that culminated with what the Interior Department called “the most aggressive and comprehensive offshore oil and gas regulatory reforms in the nation’s history,” I urge youto initiate a new five-year leasing program that provides for early and annual Atlantic lease sales, finalize a 2017-2022 program that includes the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Beaufort, Chukchi, and Cook Inlet without any further exclusions or restrictions, inform future activity by approving pending Atlantic seismic survey applications, and support efforts to expand revenue-sharing to all states with adjacent offshore oil and gas activity.

Thank you.