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MPP Candidate
George Washington University
In January, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its “America-First Offshore Energy Strategy,” as part of the 2019-2024 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposal Program (DPP). While the Obama Administration’s 2017-2022 program opened up only 6% of total outer continental shelf (OCS) acreage to resource exploration and development, the 2019-2024 Program proposes to open up approximately 90%. The BOEM estimates the U.S. OCS has about 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 327 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, natural gas. If implemented, the 2019-2024 DPP would dramatically expand America’s capacity for offshore oil and gas drilling,… [more]
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The increased focus on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic has identified numerous issues. Oil and gas exploration is a significant challenge for policy makers at all levels of government. In the recent Review of Shell’s 2012 Alaska Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Program, the Department of Interior identified seven critical principles for safe and responsible offshore drilling, including improved management of contractors and integrated government oversight. It has been noted that with the substantial oil and gas resources believed to exist in the Arctic, geopolitical considerations will greatly impact domestic policy. A Center for Climate and Energy Solutions… [more]
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Last week Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the senior Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, published a blueprint for energy policy, titled “Energy 20/20: A Vision for America’s Energy Future.” The blueprint offers ideas to “align federal policy with… our national interest to make energy abundant, affordable, clean, diverse, and secure.” Among the main ideas in Sen. Murkowski’s blueprint are: Establishing a national goal to become independent of OPEC imports by 2020 by increasing domestic oil, biofuel and synthetic fuel production. Approving the Keystone XL pipeline. Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling and… [more]
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Last week, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced his energy platform, which emphasizes the goal of U.S. energy independence through increased offshore drilling, particularly in the mid-Atlantic, an “energy partnership” with Mexico and Canada, and through greater control over energy production on federal lands for states. “States are far better able to develop, adopt and enforce regulations based on their unique resources, geology and local concerns,” said Romney. Enacting these policies would lead to over $1 trillion in revenue for federal, state, and local governments, more than 3 million new jobs, and a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing, according to the… [more]
View InsightHouse leadership is planning a vote this week on a bill to expand leasing for offshore drilling, the “Congressional Replacement of President Obama’s Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan” (H.R. 6082). As E&E News reports, the bill would “expand future offshore leasing to almost all of the Atlantic Ocean, the southern Pacific and Alaska’s Bristol Bay, all areas that were excluded from Interior’s final five-year leasing plan.” The bill would also double the number of sales in the Department of Interior’s plan and accelerate by three years sales Interior plans in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Some have criticized the… [more]
View InsightA Senate bill that would have cut $24 billion in tax breaks to oil companies over 10 years was blocked by Republicans yesterday. The bill, endorsed by President Obama hours before the vote, would have used $11.7 billion of the $24 billion to extend renewable energy tax credits and fund clean energy initiatives. The remainder would have gone toward deficit reduction. Critics of the bill have said that it would do nothing to reduce gas prices. Would legislation like this impact gas prices in the short- to medium-term? Should the U.S. remove subsidies from one industry in order to subsidize… [more]
View InsightU.S. and Mexican negotiators on February 20th reached a deal – called The Transboundary Agreement – that would regulate oil and gas development along the countries’ maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico. The Agreement would allow each country to oversee the environmental and safety protocols of the other, and could by June open 1.5 million acres of U.S. offshore territory for oil and gas development. The U.S. Interior Department estimates that the area in question “contains as much as 172 million barrels of oil and 300 billion cubic feet of natural gas, relatively modest amounts by the oil-rich gulf’s… [more]
View InsightThree House bills that would greatly expand U.S. oil and gas development – H.R. 3407, H.R. 3408, and H.R. 3410 – were approved by the Natural Resources Committee on February 1, 2012. H.R. 3407 would open up vast areas of Alaska’s coastal plain to oil leasing. H.R. 3408 would expand shale oil development in several Western states. Many Democrats opposed the bill, arguing that the environmental, social, and geologic risks of shale oil development are not yet well understood. The committee voted down a Democratic amendment that would have required the USGS to study oil shale development impacts on water… [more]
View InsightNote: Synopsis based U.S. DOE summary provided to OurEnergyPolicy.org. Complete text US DOE Mission and Goals The mission of the Department of Energy is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. Goal 1: Catalyze the timely, material, and efficient transformation of the nation’s energy system and secure U.S. leadership in clean energy technologies. Goal 2: Maintain a vibrant U.S. effort in science and engineering as a cornerstone of our economic prosperity with clear leadership in strategic areas. Goal 3: Enhance nuclear security through defense, nonproliferation, and environmental… [more]
View InsightNote: Synopsis based on Our Energy Policy Foundation staff review of Congressional committee and office summaries, third party analyses, and media summaries. Synopsis intended solely for purposes of generating discussion. Greenhouse Gas Reductions Would require certain industries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels along the following timeline: 4.75% by 2013, 17% by 2020, 42% by 2030, and 83% by 2050. Would institute a cap-and-trade mechanism for greenhouse gas reductions. The cap would include electricity generators, petroleum-based fuel producers, natural gas distributors, producers of certain fluorinated gases, and other sources. Requirements would take effect in 2013 for electricity generators… [more]
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