Environmental Policy News

Trump Announces Offshore Energy Plans, Calls Shortages Fake

At an Energy Week event hosted by Energy Secretary Rick Perry on 29 June 2017, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to increase American offshore drilling activities, per an Executive Order issued in April and the formulation of a new five-year plan. He also called fuel shortages in the past “fake.”

President Trump stated, “Many of us remember the long gas lines and the constant claims that the world was running out of oil and natural gas. Americans were told that our nation could always solve this energy crisis by imposing draconian restrictions on energy production. But we now know that was all a big, beautiful myth. It was fake. Don’t we love that term, fake? What we’ve learned about fake over the last little while. Fake news. CNN. Fake. Whoops, their camera just went off. Okay, you can come back, I won’t say . . . I promise, I won’t’ say anything more about you. I see that red light go off, I say whoah.”

“The truth is that we have near limitless supplies of energy in our country. Powered by new innovation and technology, we are now on the cusp of a true energy revolution. Our country is blessed with extraordinary energy abundance, which we didn’t know of, even five years ago and certainly ten years ago. We have nearly one hundred year’s worth of natural gas and more than two hundred fifty year’s worth of clean, beautiful coal. We are a top producer of petroleum and the number one producer of natural gas. We have so much more than we ever thought possible. We are really in the driving seat, and you know what? We don’t wanna let other countries take away our sovereignty and tell us what to do and how to do it. That’s not gonna happen.”

“With these incredible resources, my Administration will seek not only the American energy independence that we’ve been looking for so long, but American energy dominance; and we’re going to be an exporter. Exporter! We will be dominant. We will export American energy all over the world, all around the globe. These energy exports will create countless jobs for our people and provide true energy security to our friends, partners and allies, all across the globe. But this full potential can only be realized when government promotes energy development . . . instead of obstructing it, like the Democrats, they obstruct it, but we get through it. We cannot have obstruction. We have to get out and do our job better and faster than anybody in the world, certainly when it comes to one of our great assets: energy. This vast energy wealth does not belong to the government. It belongs to the people of the United States of America.”

“Yet for the past eight years the Federal government imposed massive job killing barriers to American energy development. Since my very first day in office, I have been moving at record pace to cancel these regulations and to eliminate the barriers to domestic energy production like never before. Job killing regulations are being removed and vital infrastructure projects are being approved at a level that they’ve never seen before. As you all know, I approved the Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota access pipeline in my first week. Thousands of jobs. Tremendous things are happening. And by the way, I thought I’d take a lot of heat. I didn’t take any heat. I approved ‘em and that was it. I figured we’d have all sorts protests. We didn’t have any anything. But I have to do—whether it’s protesting or not—I have to do what’s right. But people celebrate those two transactions as opposed to protesting. Sometimes you have to go out and just do it. You find out. Whatever happens happens, but you have to be right for the American people.”

President Trump stated that he has lifted restrictions on natural gas, and ended the “war on coal” by opening up mining on Federal Lands. The President added that mined land would be left “in better shape than it is right now.”

He reminded the audience that he has withdrawn the U.S. from “the one-sided Paris Accord.” The President also announced six new initiatives. These included 1) plans to expand nuclear, 2) financing of coal plants in other countries, such as the Ukraine, 3) construction of a new petroleum pipeline to Mexico which he said would “go right under the wall,” 4) the export of more natural gas to South Korea, 5) support for the Lake Charles LNG export terminal, and 6) a new offshore oil and gas leasing program.

“America will be allowed to access the vast energy wealth located right off our shores,” said the President.

“President Trump’s been rolling back the Clean Power Plan, he’s opening the way for more offshore drilling, and President Donald Trump sent a message to the world that we’re gonna put American energy and American jobs first when he withdrew the United States of America from the Paris Climate Accord,” said Vice President Mike Pence in his introduction of the President.

Publication of the RFI for the new 5-year National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is scheduled for 3 July 2017, and it begins a 45-day public comment period. Public involvement and analysis will accompany the planning process, which generally takes two to three years to complete. The notice went on display in the Federal Register public reading room Friday, June 30, 2017, and is schedule for publishing in the Federal Register Monday, July 3. The comment period is the first step in executing the new 5-year plan which was put in action by the April 28 executive order on American Energy.

The 2017-2022 Five Year Program, which is set to begin this summer and was formulated under the Obama Administration, will continue to be executed until the new National OCS Program is complete.

“Developing a new National Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program that respects environmental and economic sensitivities but still allows us to responsibly develop our resources is critical to reaching President Trump’s goal of American energy dominance,” said Secretary Zinke. “Offering more areas for energy exploration and responsible development was a cornerstone of the President’s campaign and this action is the first step in making good on that promise for offshore oil and gas.”

“Under the last administration, 94% of the OCS was off-limits to responsible development, despite interest from state and local governments and industry leaders. The Trump Administration is dedicated to energy dominance, growing the economy and giving the public a say in how our natural resources are used, and that’s exactly what we are doing by opening up the Request For Information and a new 5-year plan,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Kate MacGregor.

The Secretary's Order calls for enhancing opportunities for energy exploration, leasing, and development of the OCS, establishing regulatory certainty for OCS activities, and enhancing conservation stewardship, thereby providing jobs, energy security, and revenue for the American people.

“Our country has a massive energy economy and we should absolutely wear it on our sleeves, rather than keep energy resources in the ground,” said Vincent DeVito, Counselor to the Secretary of Interior for Energy Policy. “This work will encourage responsible energy exploration and production, in order to advance the United States' position as a global energy force and foster security for the benefit of the American citizenry."

Publication in the Federal Register of a Request for Information and Comments (RFI) on the Preparation of the 2019-2024 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program is the initial step. Per statute and consistent with previous efforts, BOEM will evaluate all 26 of the OCS planning areas during this first stage and is, therefore, requesting comments on all areas. The initiation of a new National OCS Program development process, managed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), is a key aspect of the implementation of President Donald Trump’s America First Offshore Energy Strategy, as outlined in the President’s Executive Order (E.O.) 13795 on April 28, 2017, which was amplified by Secretary Zinke’s DOI Order 3350 on May 1, 2017.

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act requires the Secretary of the Interior, through BOEM, to prepare and maintain a schedule of proposed oil and gas lease sales in federal waters, indicating the size, timing, and location of auctions that would best meet national energy needs for the five-year period following its approval. In developing the National OCS Program, which has also been known as a Five Year Program, the Secretary is required to achieve an appropriate balance among the potential for environmental impacts, for discovery of oil and gas, and for adverse effects on the coastal zone. As required by the President’s Executive Order, DOI will cooperate with the Departments of Defense and Commerce on issues pertaining to this National OCS Program development process.

“This first step does not propose to schedule sales in particular areas, or make any preliminary decisions on what areas will be included in the schedule,” said BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank. “The RFI considers all areas of the Outer Continental Shelf and provides an opportunity for interested parties to submit comments and suggestions about the potential for leasing and to identify environmental and other concerns and uses that may be affected by offshore leasing.”

BOEM seeks a wide array of input, including information on the economic, social, and environmental values of all OCS resources, as well as the potential impact of oil and gas exploration and development on other resource values of the OCS and the marine, coastal, and human environments.

Using the information received, BOEM will prepare a Draft Proposed Program, followed by a Proposed Program and a Proposed Final Program. Throughout the planning process, BOEM will consult with all interested parties and will seek additional public comment.

The current National OCS Program for 2017–2022 schedules 11 potential lease sales; 10 in the Gulf of Mexico and one in the Cook Inlet of Alaska.

BOEM currently manages more than 3,000 active OCS leases, covering more than 16 million acres – the vast majority in the Gulf of Mexico. Of those, approximately 885 are producing leases, covering 4.4 million acres. In 2016, OCS oil and gas leases accounted for about 18 percent of domestic oil production and 4 percent of domestic natural gas production. This production generates billions of dollars in revenue for state and local governments and the U.S. taxpayer, while supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Under the RFI announced today, comments will be accepted until August 17, 2017, in either of the following ways:

Electronically (preferred method): BOEM Public Engagement Opportunities - Open the "Open Comment Document" link and follow instructions to view relevant documents and submit comments.

In written form, deliver to: Ms. Kelly Hammerle, National Program Manager, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; 45600 Woodland Road-VAM-LD; Sterling, Virginia 20166.

Additional information on the process of developing the next National OCS Program as well as on the current National OCS Program can be found here.

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