IPAA comes out against Obama’s finalized five-year offshore oil and natural gas decision
The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) recently came out against the Obama Administration’s final five-year offshore oil and natural gas leasing schedule for 2017-2022.
“This final offshore plan places more than 80 percent of offshore federal lands, including the already-planned Atlantic waters, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and even Alaska’s energy-rich waters, off limits for future development,” the group’s statement said. “The United States needs more energy, specifically oil and natural gas, to meet its future demands, according to the Obama Administration’s own energy data agency.”
IPAA said the final offshore program raises a serious question why the Obama Administration, in its final two months, chose to ignore recommendations from its own energy data agency.
In mid-summer 2016, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted the nationwide demand for oil and natural gas will grow over the next 24 years. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency forecasted that worldwide oil consumption would not peak before 2040.
Approximately 61 percent of U.S. offshore oil and natural gas generation comes from independent producers. Last month, the IPAA joined the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, the Arctic Energy Center and a coalition of energy groups to urge the Obama Administration to keep intact the Arctic leasing areas contained the draft proposed five-year plan.
“The administration should allow more access to our vast energy resources, not less. It’s disappointing that this administration, with just two months left in office, has chosen to take the low, politically-motivated path and dictate the nation’s offshore program for the entirety of President-elect Trump’s four-year term,” the group said.
