Contact: Karen Matusic | 202.682.8118 | matusick@api.org
WASHINGTON, February 6, 2008 – API has issued the following statement on the Chukchi Sea lease sale:
“The Chukchi Sea lease sale is a welcome first step toward increasing much-needed energy supplies for U.S. consumers and the U.S. economy. The oil and natural gas resources that are believed to lie within the outer continental shelf north of Alaska are of strategic significance. According to the federal Minerals Management Service, the lease sale covers an area containing an estimated 15 billion barrels of oil and 77 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, for a combined total of 27.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Our companies are committed to developing the oil and gas resources that our country needs in a manner that is protective of the environment.
“Increasing access to vital resources is an important step at a time of growing energy demand and high oil prices. Oil and natural gas will continue to play a major part in meeting our nation’s, and the world’s, growing energy needs for decades. The lease sale can help increase domestically-produced energy supplies, bolster the national economy and result in more U.S. jobs.”
Updated: April 9, 2009