SOMETHING TO AGREE ON
Offshore energy should be a platform of every candidate.
American offshore oil and gas provides economic, energy and strategic advantages that should be embraced by Republicans and Democrats alike.
Unfortunately, American offshore energy production is a political target. Vice President Joe Biden’s energy policy fact sheet includes “banning new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters” as one of his first priorities. In addition, Biden’s climate plan involves “banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters, and modifying royalties to account for climate costs”.
To understand why stifling offshore oil and natural gas production is bad for consumers, the economy and the health of our environment, it is important to understand what offshore operators and their services providers do and the manner in which they develop resources offshore.
Talk to any of the 345,000 men and women with jobs directly or indirectly supported by the American offshore oil and natural gas industry and they will tell you with pride about how safely and sustainably they produce homegrown energy. Last year, they produced an average of 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Day-in and day-out their mission is always zero spills and zero incidents.
While the offshore oil and gas industry concentrates billions of dollars in spending annually along the Gulf Coast, its supply chain flows through all 50 states. From buoy experts in Maine to software companies in Florida to concrete specialists in Hawaii, every U.S. state has businesses and employees linked to the offshore industry.
Every barrel of oil that these men and women help produce is a barrel that consumers in California, New England and elsewhere do not have to import from countries such as Russia or Venezuela. It should go without saying that policymakers should reject policies that outsource energy production to countries that do not share America’s values, which include a higher level of safety and environmental performance and oversight.
Safety standards
The U.S. offshore industry has some of the strongest safety and environmental regulations and standards in the world. Our industry has a limited environmental impact compared to other regions, producing vast quantities of energy with a much smaller physical environmental footprint, lower air emissions, and more efficient water use and management.
Offshore production platforms contribute to biodiversity as these structures become home to vast ecosystems below the water line that feed the marine life population. Ask any Gulf Coast fishermen and they will attest to the fact that these structures are home to some of the best fishing spots in the Gulf of Mexico.
Furthermore, more than $5.4 billion in revenue from offshore production flowed to government coffers last year. These funds went towards vital Federal, state and local programs, including ones that strengthen environmental stewardship.
Virtually every single dollar of the $1 billion in funding for the Land & Water Conversation Fund came from offshore oil and gas revenues. Likewise, President Trump recently signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, which allocates funding from offshore oil and gas to much-needed maintenance of our nation’s treasured national parks.
The economic, energy and environmental benefits afforded by American offshore energy will be decimated if politicians enact offshore leasing or drilling bans. A recent study by Energy & Industrial Advisory Partners details the economic and energy devastation that would come from offshore drilling or leasing bans. An offshore leasing ban would reduce the economic and employment outlook by 50 percent to 60 percent, while a drilling ban would cut them by 75 percent to 85 percent.
Energy security
Instead, continued energy production in the Gulf of Mexico will translate to continued American energy security and employment stability at a time where consumers and workers need more certainty. As one of the most productive and prospective offshore basins in the world, the Gulf of Mexico should have a bright future due to the ingenuity and dedication to safety and environmental stewardship demonstrated by the men and women of the offshore energy industry.
Supporting American offshore oil and gas production should not be a partisan issue. American offshore energy – and all the benefits it provides – should be a platform every candidate supports.