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 Departments five-year leasing plan.
Opening more federal lands and waters to oil and gas drilling is a pillar of President Trumps 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 Alaskas 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 its 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.
Zinkes 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 Trumps agenda of deregulation enhanced his companys 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 its 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 Exxons 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 administrations 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 Obamas executive order locking up offshore areas.
More Nukes! More Nukes!More Nukes!More Nukes!More Nukes!More Nukes!More Nukes!More Nukes!
I’m sure Interior is still full of appointed Obamites. Don’t be surprised to see the permits slow-walked.
“But, uh, just keep BP out.”
I am very much in support of this, but there needs to be a place for reasonable environmental enforcement. I am not thrilled about fracking, personally, and very much prefer the offshore drilling.
Another step would be to carefully open up the Alaskan drilling in areas which have been closed.
We have the ability to do this stuff cleanly and safely. I do not want Trump or conservatives to “own” a disaster like DH. And we can and should get away from ME oil.
That’s not ANWR! That was offshore leases. BIG difference. Congress can open ANWR and then offer lease sales. There is major interest in ANWR. I know.
“Obamacare Lite is not a done deal yet.”
I just watched a House Freedom Caucus press conference. Jim Jordan spoke about the “repeal bill” they had sent Obama multiple times and everything it repealed item by item. Then he listed all the items that were in Obamacare that the GOPE bill does not end. He closed with saying that they were ALL elected to repeal Obamacare, and now that they have the ability, a bunch of them have cold feet. He also said that they have enough committed NO votes that this bill is DOA. I just hope that Trump tells them to go back to the drawing board.
A few songs come to mind here:
Happy days are here again!
The skies above are clear again,
Let us sing a song of cheer again,
Happy days are here again!
Altogether shout it now,
There’s no one who can doubt it now,
Let us tell the world about it now,
Happy days are here again!
Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’,
Though they’re disapprovin’, [the Leftists, that is]
Keep them doggies movin’, RAWHIDE!!!!
Here come the hysterics, I think I here the wails of anger from here.
There will be more leases than those already granted. but after they get going, IMO crude should drop to $20/barrel or less.
But ...but I thought he was best pals with Pootie Poot?Pootie Poot won’t like this competition!
> And we can and should get away from ME oil.<
.
It will slow down the spread of Islam and our desire to put our nose in ME business where it does not belong. Also, we must further develop our LNG production in our country and gear it up to worldwide sale. What Saudi is to oil, the US can become to LNG and the latter is a much more desirable form of energy than the former. LNG is going to MAGA — you can bet on that.
And let’s get rid of Federal tax credits for the purchase of electric cars. OK to build and buy, but cut the taxpayer money flowing out every year. It has to be in the hundreds of millions if not billions.
Meanwhile, Obama sobs uncontrollably in a corner.
Jobs, baby, jobs!
We need to produce our own energy and not be dependent on the Saudis, Qataris etc. etc.
That dependence has driven bad policy like the Saudi backed “Arab Spring” with the Syrian Civil War.
Hating Russia is certainly in part about Russia’s checkmating the Gulf Arab scheme to overthrow Assad.
Awesome!!!!
My hope is that he already opened a certain house in Kalorama to “drilling”.
Another piece of this should be to re-examine whatever standards we require of autos, which prevent some of the great fuel efficient European diesels (60-70 MPG?) from being sold here in the USA. Developing domestic supply while reducing consumption is a win/win.
“There will be more leases than those already granted. but after they get going, IMO crude should drop to $20/barrel or less.”
How does a company make money drilling for $20 a barrel oil in the Gulf of Mexico?
oh, and lib heads are exploding everywhere ... again.
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