Senators send letter to Secretary Zinke in support of new oil, gas leasing program
A group of 36 Republican Senators sent a letter Wednesday to Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke expressing their support of DOI’s new Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Five-Year Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2019-2024.
“Pursuing a new Five-Year Program will provide a meaningful review to guarantee that the offshore leasing program contributes to U.S. energy dominance and to ensure some of the most prolific regions of the United States have not been arbitrarily excluded from competitive leasing,” the letter, led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), said. “We encourage you to carefully review those areas that were not included in the 2017-2022 Five-Year Program to ensure that opportunities are not missed.”
Ninety-four percent of the federal OCS is currently not available for leasing. The OCS contains approximately 89.9 billion barrels of oil and 327.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
“Offshore projects often have long lead times, so it is important to start today to make sure that the United States is planning for the future to maintain its steady and stable supply of production,” the senators wrote. “We look forward to working with the Department of the Interior as you advance the new Five-Year Program.”
