Need offshore energy

Re “A drilling reprieve”: Nations from Canada to Brazil are exploring for energy in the Atlantic, while U.S. oil and gas in the same ocean is locked away. It doesn’t make sense—especially since the U.S. is a world leader in safety standards.

Offshore drilling is safer than ever. Through joint efforts from industry experts and government regulators, more than 100 industry safety and environmental standards have been created or strengthened, and the industry launched the Center for Offshore Safety to ensure continual safety improvements.

Offshore production has been providing more than 1 million barrels of oil per day to the U.S. economy for the last 20 years, and today production in the Gulf of Mexico is near all-time highs—while co-existing safely alongside military operations, tourism and fishing. But to maintain U.S. production and grow the economy, we need to expand.

It might seem that landlocked states like ours don’t have a stake in offshore energy exploration. But all Americans have an interest in future energy security. Strong natural gas and oil production has helped make energy more affordable for families and businesses, spurring manufacturing growth. And U.S. energy leadership has enhanced our security, reducing reliance on overseas energy and diminishing the influence of nations that use their energy wealth as a weapon.

Offshore energy represents an opportunity to keep those benefits going well into the future, while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. The U.S. should not stay on the sidelines while other nations move forward.

J. KELLY ROBBINS

North Little Rock J. Kelly Robbins is executive director of the Arkansas Petroleum Council.