Reid Porter | 202.682.8114 | porterr@api.org
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2011 – The American Petroleum Institute today supported the call by Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) for a lease sale off Virginia’s coast, with revenue from the lease to be shared with the state.
“Congressman Goodlatte’s proposal is good news for Virginia and for our nation that supports development of Virginia’s abundant offshore energy resources,” said Con Lass, API senior director of federal relations. “Safely and reliably developing oil and natural gas off Virginia’s coast would bring new jobs and could generate nearly $19.5 billion in additional revenues to federal, state and local governments,” according to recent ICF International estimates.
“With the right government policies America’s oil and natural gas industry can improve our energy security by reducing our reliance on energy from elsewhere, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and providing the government revenue needed to both reduce the deficit and provide necessary government services,” Lass said. “And our industry is dedicated to safely producing the oil and natural gas our nation needs.”
The oil and natural gas industry supports more than 143,000 jobs in Virginia, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. These jobs contribute $12 billion to the state’s gross state product, or 3.1 percent of its wealth.
API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.5 percent of the U.S. economy, and, since 2000, has invested nearly $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.