12/06/2010
Katie Howell, E&E reporter
The oil and gas industry will ask Congress to reverse the Obama administration’s plans for offshore drilling, the industry’s top trade group said today.
American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard told reporters that last week’s announcement by the Interior Department to keep unexplored areas in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Gulf of Mexico off-limits to drilling for at least the next seven years was “taking the country in the wrong direction.”
“These are decisions that set the tone and framework for many years to come,” Gerard said. “This is much bigger than a short-term decision.”
The complexity of the issue demands Congress’ attention, he said.
“We believe an appropriate role for Congress is to provide significant oversight. There has been a bipartisan adverse reaction to what the administration has announced — it isn’t just about Democrats and Republicans,” Gerard said. “Key policies like OCS development, like greenhouse gas emissions, should not be made by unelected bureaucrats. They should be left to the Congress of the United States.”
Gerard added that API will “pursue whatever avenues we think are in the best interests of the American people,” when asked whether the group will seek legislation that expands leasing on the outer continental shelf.
Gerard said his group would look specifically to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and House Natural Resources ranking member Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), who will likely chair the committee in the Republican-led House next year. Bingaman and Hastings have both expressed disappointment with last week’s decision.
Gerard also touted a new poll out today that found 54 percent of respondents believe the new ban will lead to an increase in gasoline prices. And 54 percent predict the decision will be bad for the economy.
“We think this decision is clearly inconsistent with the view of the public,” Gerard said. “I don’t know what’s gone into the calculus, but hopefully, they’ll reconsider.”
The poll has drawn attention from Hastings and others. Hastings’ office, in fact, circulated the results among reporters this afternoon.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America’s president and CEO, Barry Russell, said of the findings: “The American people fully appreciate the critical role that domestic oil and natural gas production continues to play in ensuring our economy’s strength and our nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace, especially as it relates to job creation here at home. Unfortunately, this administration clearly does not.”
Special thanks to Richard Charter