Few people have been more vocal about the challenges facing offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico than Sen. David Vitter. As a Republican from Louisiana, Vitter has firsthand knowledge of the Obama administration’s slow pace of permitting since last year’s oil spill. Louisiana has yet to fully recover from the drilling moratorium and the subsequent delays stemming from Washington. This week marked the first offshore lease sale in nearly two years — a sign of progress. However, bureaucrats are still taking 115 days to approve plans, nearly twice as …
Yesterday, the Department of Interior released its new five-year offshore drilling plan. Unfortunately, the program is far less expansive when it comes to opening areas to access, exploration, and drilling than it should be. The plan schedules 15 possible lease sales in the 2012–2017 time horizon—10 in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, two in the central Gulf, and three off the coast of Alaska. More glaring, however, is the areas that are still off-limits. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts, areas the Obama Administration once considered opening, remain closed …
Offshore oil and gas leases produced $10 billion in federal revenue only a few years ago. Today that number is zero, a consequence of the Obama administration’s reaction to last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the resulting moratorium on production in the region. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) says it’s a huge mistake for the federal government to forgo the money — and the jobs that result from the offshore leases. Writing for Roll Call today, Vitter outlines the extent of the problem: Revenue can’t be generated from lease …
Americans are paying more for gasoline today than they were six weeks ago when President Obama released 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In the Gulf of Mexico, meanwhile, 10 drilling rigs — more than one-third of the fleet — have left on Obama’s watch. This incomprehensible energy policy is not only costing Americans more money at the pump. Bureaucratic delays in Washington are also stunting job growth and adding to the budget deficit. As the Obama Administration pivots to a new jobs agenda — at …
Drudge’s top storylines for the morning feature energy shortage problems in a number of states across the country because of the exceptionally cold weather. Increased demand from the inclement weather has put strains on suppliers, and in some cases, the weather itself has adversely affected energy output. New Mexico is calling for a state of emergency because of natural gas shortages, natural gas pipes in Texas are experiencing low pressure, and several other states are managing rolling blackouts and record-high energy usage. While the recent energy turmoil is a result …
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) announced today he would block the confirmation of Dr. Scott Doney to be chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration due to “concerns over scientific integrity at federal agencies and the White House.” These concerns stem from the recent Gulf offshore drilling moratorium and the ongoing lag in permit issuance since the ban was lifted in October. In a letter sent to President Obama today, Vitter characterizes it “as a continuing de facto moratorium.” Vitter also plans to hold a hearing before the Senate …
As the rest of the world continues to drill off its respective coasts, the United States is heading in the opposite direction. The Obama Administration announced that the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts will not be part of the government’s 2012–2017 Outer Continental Shelf program, effectively banning drilling in those areas for the next seven years. The decision is a reversal from the President’s announcement in March in which he opened access to waters for offshore drilling in the Atlantic and eastern Gulf of Mexico. …
Just one day after meeting with the oil and gas industry in Houma, La., last week, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveiled the Obama administration’s “Smart from the Start” initiative to speed up the permitting process. Only this wasn’t permitting for offshore oil drilling, but wind farms off of the East Coast. “To fully harness the economic and energy benefits of our nation’s vast Atlantic wind potential,” Salazar said, “we need to implement a smart permitting process that is efficient, thorough, and unburdened by needless red tape.” If only Salazar would …
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar traveled to Louisiana on Monday to meet with oil and gas executives whose industry has been suffering from a “de facto” drilling ban since the government’s moratorium was lifted. Both of the state’s senators said Salazar failed to adequately address the core issues causing the logjam. Salazar’s trip to Houma to meet with industry leaders was made in exchange for Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) lifting of her hold on Jack Lew, President Obama’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget. The state’s other senator, …
Last month we detailed how the Obama administration has tried invoke the authority of “science” to support their pre-existing political policy proposals, despite the fact that on issue after issue there either is no scientific consensus, or the preponderance of scientific evidence did not support their side. Today, Politico adds more details to the Obama administration’s efforts to manipulate science to support their offshore drilling moratorium: The White House rewrote crucial sections of an Interior Department report to suggest an independent group of scientists and engineers supported a six-month ban …
