Oil Executives Ask Congress Not to Delay Offshore Drilling
HOUSTON (Dow Jones Newswires), Feb. 25, 2009
Top executives at Devon Energy Corp. and Shell Oil Co. said Tuesday they will ask Congress not to stall the opening of new offshore drilling areas that can provide the U.S. with a reliable source of energy and jobs.
"We can't be particularly happy about any further delay," said Devon's Chief Executive Larry Nichols. "The country needs those resources and the sooner we start the sooner we will get there."
Marvin Odum, the head of Royal Dutch Shell PLC's U.S. operations, said that the recent plunge in oil prices has taken away much of the impetus to develop new hydrocarbon resources - with potentially damaging consequences in the long term. "Lower oil prices are allowing us to lose more time and not develop a comprehensive strategy for the U.S.," Odum said.
Nichols and Odum spoke to reporters a day before they and other oil executives testify at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on oil and natural-gas development in the Outer Continental Shelf.
The hearings come as the administration of President Barack Obama takes a second look at a new five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf proposed by President George W. Bush just before he left office. The new plan seeks to allow drilling in various regions along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts no longer covered under a longstanding moratorium that expired last fall.
Early this month, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar extended the public comment period for the Offshore Drilling Plan by 180 days to gather more data about available resources and input from stakeholders.
The comment period for rules passed during the Bush administration will be extended into late September. It was originally a 60-day period. The House Natural Resources Committee is having a series of hearings on offshore drilling.
Besides Nichols and Odum, Exxon Mobil Exploration Co. President Tim Cejka, BP America Inc. Chairman and President Lamar McKay and Chevron North America Exploration and Production Co. President Gary Luquette will testify Wednesday before the House committee.
The opening of new offshore drilling areas "could generate a trillion dollars of government revenue, thousands of new jobs and enhance our nation's energy security," Nichols said.
To achieve energy security, he added, it's necessary to have a multi-pronged approach that includes increased efficiency and conservation, increased use of alternatives as well as a greater supply of hydrocarbons.
"Natural gas and oil are, have been and will be for a long time our nation's leading energy sources," Nichols said. "Offshore development is a vital component to that part."
With polls still showing strong support for drilling, the Interior Department and Congress have to tread a fine political line on offshore drilling policy, even with oil prices dropping from a $147 a barrel last July to around $38 recently and a large Democratic majority in both chambers.
The Minerals Management Service estimates that the areas along the Outer Continental Shelf in the lower 48 states hold about 18 billion barrels of oil and 77 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The estimate is based on decades-old data and many experts say that number could be higher.
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
- Blockchain Demands Attention in Oil and Gas
- Macquarie Sees USA Oil Production Exiting 2024 at 14MM Barrels Per Day
- CNPC Opens Sea-Land Oil Storage and Transport Facility in Bangladesh
- Oman Sees Increasing Ship-to-Ship Transfers of Russian Oil Bound for India
- US Govt Makes Record Investment of $6B for Industrial Decarbonization
- Perenco Still Searching for Missing Person After Platform Incident
- Eni, Fincantieri, RINA Ink Deal on Maritime Decarbonization
- Oil Falls as US Inventories Increase
- Czech Utility CEZ Bucks Weaker Prices, Demand to Log Record Annual Profit
- Ithaca Energy Studies Deal for Eni's UK Upstream Assets
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call
- India Halts Russia Oil Supplies From Sanctioned Tanker Giant
- DOI Announces Proposal for Second GOM Offshore Wind Auction
- Centcom, Dryad Outline Recent Moves Around Red Sea Region
- PetroChina Set to Receive Venezuelan Oil
- Czech Conglomerate to Buy Major Stake in Gasnet for $917MM
- US DOE Offers $44MM in Funding to Boost Clean Power Distribution
- Oil Settles Lower as Stronger Dollar Offsets Tighter Market
- UK Grid Operator Receives Aid to Advance Rural Decarbonization
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call