Reid Porter | 202.682.8114 | porterr@api.org
WASHINGTON, July 6, 2011—The American Petroleum Institute today welcomed legislation introduced by Virginia Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb calling for a lease sale off Virginia’s coast with lease revenue to be shared with the state.
"As Congress and the president search for solutions to our nation's budget challenges, Virginia's senators today highlight another important opportunity to provide for economic growth, job creation and energy security while generating billions in additional revenues for the state and federal governments," said Marty Durbin, API executive vice president for government affairs. "Virginia represents just one of many opportunities that exist to access an enormous amount of energy reserves in the United States."
Durbin said that smart energy policies can bolster development of domestic oil and natural gas resources, creating jobs, enhancing energy security and providing even more revenue from the oil and natural gas industry that today contributes more than $86 million every day to the federal government.
"Our industry already supports more than 9 million jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy," he said. "With unemployment above 9 percent, we can do more in Virginia and around the country to help create jobs and to strengthen our energy security."
Development of oil and natural gas resources off the Atlantic coast could produce $428 billion in revenues for federal, state and local governments, according to a recent study by Wood Mackenzie.
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 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $86 million in revenue to our government every day, and, since 2000, has invested nearly $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.