Photo source: Louisiana Proud, Energy Strong
America needs energy policy grounded in reality. The administration should support policies that allow for safe, affordable, and reliable supplies of all forms of energy, including offshore oil and natural gas, and encourage the continued investment of technologies that help in decarbonization efforts while funding critical coastal resilience and conservation work to protect America’s Working Coast. This means the next offshore oil and gas leasing program should be finalized as quickly as possible and include all 10 reasonable and reliable lease sales scheduled.
We cannot flip a switch on our energy sources; a reality-based energy policy acknowledges the lengthy transition required to ensure the continued availability of affordable energy supplies and the need to mitigate against the dire consequences of an energy crisis grounded in constant price shocks and high-cost energy.
American offshore oil and gas production offers a smart path forward.
The U.S. offshore provides abundant energy supplies, helping to keep prices down, and it provides oil supplies that are recognized as some of the lowest carbon barrels in the world. However, there is an unprecedented gap in the federal offshore oil and gas leasing program; no new lease sales can be held without a program in place. American energy policy is in uncharted waters, and a course correction is needed.
With a 5-year offshore leasing program, the Gulf of Mexico is projected to produce an average of 2.6 million barrels per day of oil and natural gas from 2022 – 2040. A delay in the program could mean nearly 500,000 barrels per day less over that time period.
370,000 American jobs are supported by Gulf of Mexico offshore production. Nearly 60,000 of those could be lost without a 5-year offshore leasing program. Direct jobs supporting the offshore oil and gas industry pay on average $69,650. That’s 29% higher than the national average salary.
On average, $1.5 billion per year in government revenue could be lost with reduced offshore production. That revenue is used for public education, infrastructure, conservation projects, coastal restoration, hurricane protection programs, and many other critical programs.
The U.S. offshore already produces among the lowest carbon barrels of the oil-producing regions. Limiting U.S. production would hurt global GHG emissions progress. Furthermore, the world would lose a source of lower carbon energy transition progress with reduced activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The diverse ecosystem of companies that team up to produce low-carbon barrels of oil from the Gulf of Mexico is innovating incredible solutions for addressing the climate challenge.
As geopolitical tensions rise and energy prices remain at historically high levels, the world is looking to America for energy leadership and stability. An offshore leasing program with no sales is a non-starter that will hamstring our county’s future flexibility, undermine our national security, and make energy even more expensive.
The Department of the Interior must swiftly issue a Final 5-year Program for offshore leasing that includes all 11 proposed sales. A stronger Gulf of Mexico means a stronger America.
Read more: The U.S. Needs a New Offshore Oil & Gas Leasing Program
