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White House Delays Move Toward More Offshore Drilling
WASHINGTON- Calling it a "headlong rush of the worst kind," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today scrapped a Bush administration proposal to open up as many as 300 million acres off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to oil and gas drilling.
Oil platforms off Santa Barbara, Calif., are a legacy from when drilling flourished off the state's coast. A Bush-era draft plan to allow new drilling off the coast has been shelved by the Obama administration. (Photo: Michael Mariant/AP) Salazar set aside a March 23 deadline for the public to weigh in on the Bush-era draft plan and said the Obama administration would instead wait until September to decide whether to expand U.S. offshore drilling.
"The additional time we are providing will give states, stakeholders, and affected communities the opportunity to provide input on the future of our offshore areas," Salazar said in a news conference. "The additional time will allow us to restore an orderly process to our offshore energy planning."
Salazar said he was launching a comprehensive review of offshore resources by the Interior Department, which oversees oil and gas drilling on public lands, including 1.7 billion acres on the outer continental shelf. He also promised to conduct four meetings with stakeholders in Alaska, on the Pacific Coast, the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast before making a final decision on offshore drilling.
George W. Bush's draft proposal, which would govern drilling on the outer continental shelf from 2010 to 2015, was unveiled Jan. 16, just days before Bush left the White House.
Salazar said the delay represented a "dramatic change from the last eight years, where you had a one-road highway to energy independence, which was drill, drill, drill."
Salazar's move drew quick criticism from oil and gas developers, who said it was unnecessary in the face of what they say is strong public support for expanded drilling in coastal waters.
"The American people understand the imperative of producing more of our energy resources right here at home," said Barry Russell, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. "We need to act quickly and aggressively to develop domestic energy resources that could provide energy, jobs and needed revenues for states. This unnecessary delay will hold America back."
Salazar sought to assuage oil and gas producers, pledging that the industry will be part of the debate over expanding offshore drilling.
"The oil and gas industry should not see the Obama administration as their enemy," Salazar said.
"We need (their) expertise and resources as we move forward, but we need to be honest about our energy future," he said. "A drill-only approach onshore and offshore is not enough. We need a comprehensive energy plan."
4 Comments so far
Show AllRight now, the price of oil is too cheap to be true so of course they'll postpone it. But when the price goes back up, then they'll reverse even though it would take years to get a single drop of oil from those places assuming the projected amount actually exists to begin with.
You know, the oil companies have zero interest in drilling off the East and West coast of the U.S. It makes no sense to those who know the industry and those within the industry. The "drill baby drill" mantra was nothing but a charade. At best there are an estimated 18 billion barrels of oil off both coasts with a maximum daily production rate of 1 million barrels per day, if everything goes well. This is peanuts and the oil companies know it. They have vast thousands of square miles in the Gulf of Mexico yet to drill, they aren't about to move valuable assets from the Gulf to either coast. As for extra rigs available to rent or buy - forget it, lead time is incredibly long and the competition for this equipment is fierce. Oil consumption at present is down considerably and will remain soft in the West for some time.
The Obama Administration should have just let this lay, everyone would have forgot about it and there is no danger of anyone drilling off the two coasts anytime soon - if ever.
RMG
But the whole point of Obama's stance is to assure "progressives" that he stands with them. Posturing and cosmetic changes are what the B.O. administration is all about.
The reality is "President Obama plans to order a sweeping overhaul of the National Security Council, expanding its membership and increasing its authority to set strategy across a wide spectrum of international and domestic issues.
(National security adviser - James L. Jones, a retired Marine general) has long been an outspoken proponent of a 'pro-active military' in noncombat regions. He has advocated military collaboration with the oil and gas industry and with nongovernmental organizations abroad."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/07/AR2009020702076.html
So it's still "drill baby drill" - but not off our shores.
"The American people understand the imperative of producing more of our energy resources right here at home," said Barry Russell, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. "We need to act quickly and aggressively to develop domestic energy resources that could provide energy, jobs and needed revenues for states. This unnecessary delay will hold America back."
Of course people feel this way - they've had it drilled into their heads for the past eight years. But there are, I'm sure there's a whole lot of us "American people" who don't see it their way.