Department of Interior to Lift Bans on Arctic and Atlantic Drilling, Review Current Five-Year Offshore Oil and Gas Plans
An executive order coming today will reverse Obama-era restrictions while issuing a review of the five-year plan for future oil and gas development.
Withhis first 100 days in office wrapping up, President Trump madehis29thexecutive ordertoday. The order dujour, signed by the President today,instructs Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to begin reviewing thecurrent five-year development plan for offshore oil and gas explorationon the 1.7 billion acres of America'souter continental shelf overseen by the Interior.It also tasks the department with reviewing the regulations and permitting process for development and seismic research. Rolled into thereview is the rescinding of Obama's permanent ban on oil and gas drilling forareas of theArctic and AtlanticOceans.
Officially knownas the Executive Order Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy, the order also directs Secretaryof Commerce Wilbur Rossto refrain from designatingany newmarine monuments orsanctuaries whileconducting a review of allexpansions and designations of any maritime or marine national monuments under the Antiquities Act withinthe last 10 years. Most notably, that would include last year's expansionby President Obama of thePapahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean,and hisdesignation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument in the Atlantic Ocean, where only recently did APP scientists discover Atlantic Puffins overwinter.
According toZinke, who spoke with reporters on Thursday night, the impetus of these decisions is tore-establish America'sposition “as a global energy leader and to foster energy security for the benefit of the Americanpeople without removing any of the stringentenvironmental safeguards that are currently in place.”
Citing the huge disparity between oil and gas production between the Gulfof Mexicoand elsewhere along the continental shelf—more than 97 percent of the current 16 million acres beingleasedare in the Gulf—Zinke noted how much of the continental shelf is currently closedto anyexploration.“When I came to the office, we looked at what was available in natural recoverable oil andgas on our outercontinental shelf and what wasn't, and today about 94 percent of our outercontinentalshelfis off limitsfor possible development of any type,” he said.
To further prove his point, Zinke said that revenues in 2008 for offshore oil and gas drillingwere roughly$18 billion. “By contrast, leasing revenues in 2016 were about $2.8 billion, so it dropped about $15 billion," he said. "When you have a drop of $15 billion and let's say we have a $12.5 [billion] shortfall in infrastructureand parks, that's the scale of what we dropped."
The reasons for thatdrop-off are manifold. Among them: an oil and gas boom has lowered market prices, the renewableenergy sector has seen a surge in growth and investment, and, of course,President Obama placedmany restrictions on offshore oil and gas industry drilling during his tenure, including a compeleteban in parts of the Arctic andAtlantic Ocean. Citing a lesser-known1953 law called the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Obama used his presidential powerduringhis waning timein officeto issue the controversial bans,ensuringvital swaths ofwildlifehabitat would remain protected.
Earlier in the call,Zinkeaddressed the distressenvironmentalists will inevitablyhave over the review andthelifting of theserestrictions. “I understand some of you may have a concern about environmental impact, and that’s a valid concern, a concern the President and I share,” he said. Later,he went on: "Inthe final days of the previous administration, there weresome orders—we are reversingthose and puttingthem in the review . . . All of us should get worried about last-minute actions of any administration.”
While the rescinding of the Obama-era restrictions clearsthe way for new oil and gas leases in those areas, Zinke noted that the bulk of this review was focused on the next five-year plan. "We're not changing the current lease sales coming up, nor are we changing the current five-year plan," he said. "This is a review. It's going to take a couple of years."
As part of the review, Zinke said that he will be looking at all the various options to gain energy independence,and that the federal goverment would put an emphasis on taking into accountwhat individualstates want. Alongthe Atlantic, alternative options couldinclude wind farms. "I talked to a lot of senators on theEast Coast," he said. "They're very optimistic aboutthe wind opportunities. I'm very optimistic about the wind opportunities. This five-year plan will look at that as well."
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