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April 19th, 2010

Letter: Offshore plan to limit production

LOGA Articles, Washington, louisiana oil & gas association No Comments
President Barack Obama’s recent unveiling of his plans for offshore energy exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf has created much discussion on both sides of the aisle.
From the left to the right, pundits and politicians are determining the overall intentions of this plan. Regardless of party affiliation or ideology, one thing is certain: We must expand domestic production to address our nation’s energy crisis.
The Advocate staff’s recent assessment of the president’s offshore drilling plan was agreeable in some respects. However, in general, the opinion article lacked the facts. To begin, I agree that the president’s decision to expand offshore leasing off the coast of Florida is certainly a positive gesture. However, this gesture is simply a political carrot at best.
While the president’s plan appears to support the expansion of oil and gas development in the OCS, in reality, it does more to limit our abilities to explore these vast resources. Expanding small portions of the OCS in one place and significantly locking up leasing and exploration in another will not alleviate our energy concerns. In fact, these actions do more to limit our abilities to expand domestic production.
It is a fact that this plan stands to cancel five lease sales off the coast of Alaska. To give you an idea, one of these areas is projected to contain more than 77 billion barrels of potential oil production. In addition, this plan delays planned leases off the coast of Virginia and calls for a “study” of southern portions of the Atlantic OCS. This study is nothing more than a delay tactic and will prevent future lease sales for another year.
While this administration moves forward with this plan, it is important to remember that President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget proposal stands to tax the oil and gas industry at an overwhelming $37 billion. By removing these vital tax incentives, we will most certainly see a significant reduction in our domestic production and the elimination of thousands of jobs.
Our stance on this issue is not anti-Obama in nature. Our approach to addressing the crucial energy needs of our country are pro-business, pro-jobs and pro-American. We commend the president on addressing this issue and bringing the energy debate back to the forefront in Washington. However, as long as we continue the failed energy policy of shutting off access to our vast offshore reserves and enact egregious taxes on our industry, the future road will be paved with higher energy prices, drastic unemployment and a continuance of dependency on foreign sources of energy.
We can take “yes” for an answer. As long as “yes” isn’t a political game and is an answer to the expansion of ALL our oil and gas reserves.
Don G. Briggs, president
Louisiana Oil & Gas Association
Baton Rouge

LOGA President Don Briggs responds to the Advocates review of President Obama’s

President Barack Obama’s recent unveiling of his plans for offshore energy exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf has created much discussion on both sides of the aisle.

From the left to the right, pundits and politicians are determining the overall intentions of this plan. Regardless of party affiliation or ideology, one thing is certain: We must expand domestic production to address our nation’s energy crisis.

The Advocate staff’s recent assessment of the president’s offshore drilling plan was agreeable in some respects. However, in general, the opinion article lacked the facts. To begin, I agree that the president’s decision to expand offshore leasing off the coast of Florida is certainly a positive gesture. However, this gesture is simply a political carrot at best.

While the president’s plan appears to support the expansion of oil and gas development in the OCS, in reality, it does more to limit our abilities to explore these vast resources. Expanding small portions of the OCS in one place and significantly locking up leasing and exploration in another will not alleviate our energy concerns. In fact, these actions do more to limit our abilities to expand domestic production.

It is a fact that this plan stands to cancel five lease sales off the coast of Alaska. To give you an idea, one of these areas is projected to contain more than 77 billion barrels of potential oil production. In addition, this plan delays planned leases off the coast of Virginia and calls for a “study” of southern portions of the Atlantic OCS. This study is nothing more than a delay tactic and will prevent future lease sales for another year.

While this administration moves forward with this plan, it is important to remember that President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget proposal stands to tax the oil and gas industry at an overwhelming $37 billion. By removing these vital tax incentives, we will most certainly see a significant reduction in our domestic production and the elimination of thousands of jobs.

Our stance on this issue is not anti-Obama in nature. Our approach to addressing the crucial energy needs of our country are pro-business, pro-jobs and pro-American. We commend the president on addressing this issue and bringing the energy debate back to the forefront in Washington. However, as long as we continue the failed energy policy of shutting off access to our vast offshore reserves and enact egregious taxes on our industry, the future road will be paved with higher energy prices, drastic unemployment and a continuance of dependency on foreign sources of energy.

We can take “yes” for an answer. As long as “yes” isn’t a political game and is an answer to the expansion of ALL our oil and gas reserves.

Don G. Briggs, president

Louisiana Oil & Gas Association

Baton Rouge