Posted on 03/07/2017 12:32:55 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The Department of the Interior will include “all available” federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico that have not already been leased out for offshore oil drilling.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Monday 73 million acres off the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida would be offered at a lease sale in August as part of the Interior Department’s five-year leasing plan.
“Opening more federal lands and waters to oil and gas drilling is a pillar of President Trump’s plan to make the United States energy independent,” Zinke said in a statement.
Interior finalized its current five-year offshore leasing program in January, just before Trump took office. The current plan includes 11 potential lease sales — 10 in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.
The Obama administration, however, did not include any lease sales in most of the Arctic Ocean and all of the Atlantic Ocean. The administration initially considered offshore drilling in those areas, but decided not to on the urging of environment groups.
For now, it seems like the Trump administration will stick with current policies. that could possibly change one Secretary Zinke gets all his appointees in place. The Senate confirmed Zinke last week, and it’s unclear when they will hold confirmation hearings for other high-level Interior positions.
“The Gulf is a vital part of that strategy to spur economic opportunities for industry, states, and local communities, to create jobs and home-grown energy and to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Zinke said.
Zinke’s announcement came the same day as President Donald Trump congratulated ExxonMobil on its $20 billion investments in Gulf Coast states to boost its petrochemical refining operations. Exxon started making big investments in the region in 2013 and continue until 2022.
Exxon says its investment is creating more than 45,000 construction and manufacturing jobs with salaries ranging from $75,000 to $125,000. Exxon CEO Darren Woods said Trump’s agenda of deregulation “enhanced” his company’s investments.
Shortly before leaving office, former President Barack Obama locked up even more offshore areas from drilling, issuing an executive order in December making 31 canyons in the Atlantic off limits to drilling. The order took 3.8 million acres of the Atlantic ocean out of play for drillers.
In that same order, Obama designated “the vast majority of U.S. waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas as indefinitely off limits to offshore oil and gas leasing.”
Environmentalists supported keeping Arctic and Atlantic waters off limits to drilling. Activists say it’s necessary to protect marine life and slow global warming.
Trump, on the other hand, promised to boost U.S. energy production through opening more federal lands and waters for exploration and eliminating regulations. That includes rolling back Obama-era policies blocking offshore drilling.
“This is exactly the kind of investment, economic development and job creation that will help put Americans back to work,” Trump said of Exxon’s investments announced Monday.
“Many of the products that will be manufactured here in the United States by American workers will be exported to other countries, improving our balance of trade,” Trump said. “This is a true American success story. In addition, the jobs created are paying on average $100,000 per year.”
U.S. Arctic waters are estimated to hold 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Trump could redo the Obama administration’s five-year plan to include Arctic and Atlantic ocean lease sales, or Congress can repeal the plan using the Congressional Review Act. Trump could also undo Obama’s executive order locking up offshore areas.
Opening the area for bids is far from “conjecture” and definitely deserves celebrating. It shows that the strangulation of the economy is ending.
Very important to the fight against the Regulatory State.
You are absolutely correct on this and thank you for calling me on it and in such a positive way. Old brain old numbers.
Did a refresh and am amazed how much we are getting from Canada and how much is coming from their sands.
Well arrogantsob, your name sure fits. I have no idea to what your post was making reference. Maybe you are in need of an optorectomy.
True. Still, the last ‘new’ oil refinery built in the US was in 1977. Advancements made in materials, technology, and design alone should tempt one or more refinery operators to build a new refinery. Greater output and less pollution would make it desirable for everyone, enviro-whackjobs notwithstanding.
Of course ! Because everyone knows that there is a precise amount of rain that has always fallen each year, and any variation up or down is therefor due to uncaring and destructive actions of White American Men unthinkingly using their Privilege. /s
You are correct.
Me, too. Most of what has been released is not prospective anyway. Destin Dome, offshore Mississippi. There is a reason there are no platforms there.
The Atlantic Ocean has been a graveyard of dry holes. Totally different geology than the Gulf of Mexico. The main difference is a lack of basinal salt that helps form most of the structures in the Gulf. The only significant production to date is a field called Hibernia off of Newfoundland.
Really. Well, dang, you oughta be a petroleum engineer!
My sister-in-law, who IS an actual petroleum engineer, says that there is as much or more more oil offshore the US in the Atlantic than there is in the Gulf. Our proven reserves are enormous, and we can extract oil that isn't commercially feasible for the Russians.
Meanwhile the Saudi cost of production is $10/ barrel.
Fuel Cells could provide plenty of vehicular power, and while they mix Hydrogen and Oxygen through a membrane to form water, they are a type of electric, and they already power some powerful equipment. A passenger bus, as of 2 days ago.
You are truly clueless, in that case.
Well, I’ll give you some time on this.
God is in numbers. “Enormous reserves” is not numbers. Gulf of Mexico reserves (1P reserves) about 4.8 billion barrels. Your SIL says Atlantic offshore is the same? Well, the EIA disagrees claiming total offshore at 5.1 billion, but say she’s right and it’s the same as the GOM. So 9.6 billion barrels. (FYI at 20 million barrels/day, (20 X 365) 9.6 billion barrels is a bit over 1 year of US consumption)
Russia reserves: 80 billion.
Now that’s proven reserves. There are various categories of reserves. 1P, 2P and 3P, and then there are resources, some of which are labeled “undiscovered resources”. You have to educate yourself about the details of it. It’s non trivial.
But when you’re done you’ll realize what must be. 20 million bpd is more than anyone else on Earth burns. We only extract 1/2 that from our own rock, offshore and onshore. The rest we buy from Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Nigeria, KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and . . . yes, Russia.
They don’t really have to sell to us if they don’t want to. It’s their oil, after all.
“You are truly clueless, in that case.”
I would suggest that you find a mirror! You “arrogantsob!”
Weak. But keep organizing for the Democrats with the unwarranted negativism.
Drilling for oil is one thing, but the installation of oil processing facilities is where real jobs are created.
Crack, crack crack!
Alkylate, alkylate, alkylate!
Oil Companies rather produce and sell oil than refine it.
Oil Companies rather produce and sell oil than refine it. That’s one reason why they have not built one in many years in the US. Refining is a more risky capital expenditure than drilling.
Hire ! Baby, Hire!
All you engineering companies, make Houston great again
MHGA!
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