API Highlights Importance of Seismic Testing in Gulf after BOEM Releases Draft Environmental Report

WASHINGTON, September 28, 2016 – API Upstream Director Erik Milito highlighted the importance of seismic testing in the Gulf of Mexico after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced its Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that evaluates the potential impacts of geological and geophysical surveys in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the regulatory development process for those activities. 

“Seismic testing has been safely used in the U.S. and around the world for decades to locate potential new sources of energy, and we will be reviewing the PEIS in the coming weeks,” said API Upstream Director Erik Milito. “Those energy sources in the Gulf can be harnessed to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, help American consumers and strengthen our national energy security. 

“Marine life and commercial fishing have thrived in the Gulf of Mexico for more than 30 years while scientists and industry experts have used safe technology without a single case of harm to animals. Seismic surveys help uncover new oil and natural gas resources in the Gulf and will allow people to make informed decisions about the potential for continued job creation and economic growth from offshore energy production in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Seismic surveys are frequently used in the Gulf of Mexico with no known detrimental impact to marine animal populations or to commercial fishing, according to BOEM’s chief environmental officer Dr. William Brown. There is no evidence that the sound produced by exploring for oil and gas with seismic surveys has resulted in any physical or auditory injury to a marine mammal. These surveys are also used by the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation and the offshore wind industry.

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 650 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 30 million Americans.