A 2016 study from the Obama Administration highlighted that the country’s greenhouse gas emissions wouldn’t be greatly impacted by leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, those emissions may be higher without Gulf of Mexico development. Without this development, the U.S. will have a greater reliance on foreign oil meaning higher emissions and would slow America’s world-leading environmental progress.

Continuing development in existing areas of the Gulf ensures the energy we produce and consume energy is done so with the world’s strongest environmental and safety standards. Knocking the Gulf out of production would mean that countries with poor environmental records and lower standards are providing the energy American families and businesses need.

It’s important to note that even with all our energy production, America has still achieved the largest absolute decrease in carbon dioxide emissions of any country since 2000, according to the International Energy Agency. Last year, we had the largest absolute reduction, 140 megatons, while China accounted for most of Asia’s 320 megaton emissions increase. The U.S. is more than two-thirds of the way to its emissions reductions goals under the Paris Climate Accord 2025 targets.

America pays as much attention to safety as it does the environment since they go hand-in-hand. Regulators and industry alike in recent years have taken unprecedented steps to further increase safety and environmental protections, including the following actions:

• • Updated exploration and development standardsand processes
  • Created new well design and casing standards
  • Updated existing safety and environmental management systems(SEMS) rule to maximize workplace safety for offshore operations
  • Issued new blowout preventer requirements and well control rules
  • Increased inspection and engineering workforce
  • Supported institutions such as the Ocean Energy Safety Instituteand the Center for Offshore Safety

The Gulf of Mexico holds an estimated ~48 billion barrels of oil and ~142 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered oil and natural gas,[1] making it a huge source of reliable and affordable energy that powers our modern lives.

If used to generate electricity, the oil alone is enough to power all 128.5 million households in the U.S. for more than two years, based on Energy Information Administration data – and do lots more, too.

Already, the Gulf supplies nearly 17% of the nation’s crude oil production, and existing Gulf development generates significant economic benefits to Gulf Coast states. In FY 2019 alone, Gulf of Mexico activity supported 345,498 jobs, over $28 billion in GDP, and $5 billion in government revenue.

[1] Undiscovered but technically recoverable resources (UTRR).

A leasing ban or failure to issue federal permits on public land and waters would force the U.S. to import the displaced oil from other mineral rich countries. It would also undermine our position as the world’s largest oil and gas producer, which insulates our economy from the price shocks that we suffered for decades when we relied on foreign nations for our energy needs.

American production means geopolitical turbulence or price manipulations don’t turn into higher prices at the pump and all across our economy. Currently, about 22% of US oil production and 12% of natural gas production takes place on federal lands, according to SP Global, with 60% of the country’s permits in one of the poorest states in the nation – New Mexico, which heavily relies on the revenue to meet state budget requirements. Federal waters based development accounts for roughly 15% of total oil production and roughly 3% of natural gas production.

Worse, it will harm our position as the world’s biggest reducer of emissions.