Reid Porter | 202.682.8114 | porterr@api.org
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2011 – API’s Upstream Director Erik Milito delivered the following comments today on permitting decisions for the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere:
“We need to focus on getting more permits in the Gulf. The nation's economic and energy security depends on our ability to develop these resources,” said Milito. “Limiting permits to projects that were operational prior to the moratorium is evidence that this administration lacks a robust energy strategy capable of meeting increasing demand and the development of domestic resources this country needs.
“The oil and natural gas industry has led the way in enhancing safety for offshore operating capabilities in the areas of prevention, containment and spill response. Now is the time for a clear, consistent, and efficient process for approvals of new exploration and development plans, containment capabilities, spill response plans, environmental assessments and new permits to drill.
"The introduction of ‘use it or lose it’ legislation is a tired political stunt to distract the American people from the fact that we are not doing enough in the Gulf, in Alaska and elsewhere to use our own resources and put Americans back to work. And, ‘use it or lose it’ is already the law, but companies cannot develop existing leases without drilling permits issued by the government.”
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.