Statement by Jack Gerard on Impending Mark-up of Oil and Gas Title of Senate ENR Bill

Cathy Landry | 202.682.8122 | landryc@api.org

WASHINGTON – American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard issued the following statement on the impending mark-up of the oil and gas title of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee bill:

“While we applaud the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for addressing the serious energy challenges America faces, we urge the panel to ensure that any final bill include provisions to provide real access to domestic oil and natural gas resources, leading to real production to meet the needs of the American consumer and industry.

“Any bill should include the lifting of the remaining moratoria on the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and provide assurance that there will not be policy changes that would slow the progress of the five-year oil and gas leasing plan that covers new areas opened last year that had been off-limits for decades. Developing those areas could result in more than a trillion dollars of new government revenues and the creation of thousands of new jobs, while enhancing our nation’s energy security.

“Coastal states should be given a portion of the revenues associated with the development of oil and gas off their shores because that production will benefit all Americans in terms of revenues, additional jobs and greater domestic energy supply.”