API Announces New “Explore Offshore” Coalition In Georgia Supporting Expanded Access To State’s Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Resources; Part of Larger Effort Backing Offshore Energy Opportunities in Southeast United States

Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson and Former Secretary of the Navy and Virginia Senator Jim Webb Serving as bipartisan National Co-Chairs.

More than 100 coalition members voice support for Offshore Oil and Natural Gas.

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2018 – API today announced the launch of “Explore Offshore”, a new coalition of more than 100 community organizations, associations, businesses and local leaders in Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida who support increased access to offshore U.S. oil and natural gas resources. Jim Nicholson, who served as Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the George W. Bush Administration, and former Secretary of the Navy and Virginia Senator Jim Webb will serve as bipartisan national co-chairs of the coalition. Georgia State Petroleum Council Director, Hunter Hopkins, will serve as Explore Offshore for Georgia’s Chair.

Explore Offshore For Georgia Chair and Georgia Petroleum Council Director Hunter Hopkins: “A strong economy depends on reliable and affordable energy. Georgia has real potential to see thousands of new well-paid jobs appear in the state with the recent Department of the Interior’s proposal to study and explore the Outer Continental Shelf for oil and natural gas. Many of our communities across Georgia could reap the benefits from offshore energy development as it would generate new state revenues for public schools and infrastructure.”

Georgia Quick Facts: What Could Happen If We Explore Offshore

• Oil and natural gas will continue to make up over 60 percent of America’s electricity use for at least the next thirty years according to federal government projections, even with the use of renewables on the rise.
• 41 percent of net electricity generation in Georgia in 2017 came from natural gas.
• By 2035, the oil and natural gas industry could create over 4,000 new high-paying jobs in Georgia.
• Offshore development could result in $270 million a year in private investment into Georgia.
• The average salary for oil and natural gas exploration and development jobs is $116,000, including for positions that do not all require a four-year degree.

Explore Offshore is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to safe and environmentally responsible

access to our offshore energy resources to help supply affordable and reliable energy for American consumers, small businesses, and manufacturers. This broad coalition of community organizations, businesses, and local associations across the Southeast has come together to voice support for reliable, safe, and affordable energy.

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 10.3 million U.S. jobs and nearly 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API’s more than 625 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 45 million Americans.

For the national press release click here.

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