President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order designed to advance U.S. energy production. According to Trump, under the previous administrations, America's offshore resources were blocked from responsible development. Ninety-four percent of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf's (OCS's) 1.7 billion acres are either off limits to or not considered for oil and gas exploration and development under the current (2017-2022) leasing program.
The OCS is expected to contain 90 billion barrels of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and 327 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered technically recoverable natural gas. In fiscal year 2016, federal revenues from the OCS were $2.8 billion; the actual sales value of the oil and gas resources was $26 billion and generated $55 billion in total spending in the economy. These expenditures supported approximately 315,000 American jobs.
President Trump's executive order directs the Secretary of Interior and Secretary of Commerce to take action on OCS restrictions.
Alaska has seen a number of nearby OCS areas closed off to development and now has the second-highest unemployment in the country, as its resource sectors, particularly oil and gas, have lost thousands of jobs. Revenue to the federal government from leasing the OCS has fallen by over 80 percent, from $18 billion in 2008 to $2.8 billion in 2016. On average, OCS energy development generates $10 billion-$ 12 billion annually.
"We are pleased to see this administration prioritizing responsible U.S. energy development and recognizing the benefits it will bring to American consumers and businesses," said API President and CEO Jack Gerard. "Developing our abundant offshore energy resources is a critical part of a robust, forward- looking energy policy that will secure our nation's energy future and strengthen the U.S. energy renaissance.
The executive order also directs the secretary of interior and secretary of commerce to take action on OCS restrictions. The secretary of the interior will review areas closed off by the current five-year plan for sale of oil and gas leases in the OCS, without disrupting scheduled lease sales. These planning areas include the western and central Gulf of Mexico, Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea, Cook Inlet, and the mid- and south Atlantic.
"We must particularly look to and embrace the future development of domestic sources of oil and natural gas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico," Gerard said. "Exploration in this area is critical to our national security, and we continue to see our neighbors in Mexico and Cuba pursue these opportunities. The eastern Gulf is in close proximity to existing production and infrastructure, and opening it would most quickly spur investment and economic activity, which could create thousands of jobs and provide billions of dollars in government revenue.
"The administration has also taken important steps toward increasing the safe development of our energy resources onshore by ordering a critical examination of how previous administrations' frequent and sweeping use of the Antiquities Act has reduced the availability of multiple- use public lands and the resources they hold for the benefit of the American people."
For more information, visit www.whitehouse.gov or call (202) 682-8000.