Karen Matusic | 202-682-8118 | matusick@api.org
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – American Petroleum Institute issued the following statement by President Jack Gerard today regarding the Department of Interior’s decision to host four regional public meetings in April to present Interior’s findings on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy resources and potential environmental impacts from their development:
“We look forward to seeing the Department’s report because it will show that America has vast untapped offshore oil and natural gas resources that could be produced safely to put this country’s economy back on its feet and create more jobs. As Secretary Salazar and Secretary Chu have said, oil and natural gas development is a vital component of a comprehensive energy plan. We need to be mindful in this tough economic environment that a counterproductive proposal for massive new taxes would discourage the development of new oil and gas supplies, resulting in lost U.S. jobs and higher energy costs for Americans. As every respected projection shows, oil and natural gas will continue to meet most of the nation’s energy requirements for many years. We need policies that recognize that.”