API, others ask Congress to boost BOEMRE funding

Mark Green
Posted November 17, 2010

(Editor's Note: The American Petroleum Institute, together with the American Exploration & Production Council, the Independent Producers Association of America, the International Association of Drilling Contractors, the National Ocean Industries Association and the U.S. Oil & Gas Association sent a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations Full and Subcommittee, asking Congress to provide additional resources to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to increase staff, training and inspectors. API President and CEO Jack Gerard issued the following comment today.)

We fully support Congress providing additional resources for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement. This agency needs the additional inspectors and the increased staff and training resources to allow more efficient review and approval of oil and natural gas permit applications and processing of environmental reviews.

Roughly 30 percent of America's oil production and 13 percent of its natural gas production comes from the Outer Continental Shelf. Development of OCS resources creates jobs and generates billions of dollars each year in government revenues. It is imperative that BOEMRE is provided the necessary resources to review and process permits to drill in the OCS waters, and to maintain a vibrant leasing program in the OCS. Failure to do so could threaten America jobs, government revenue and American energy security.

The oil and natural gas industry contributes billions of dollars each year to the federal Treasury, a portion of which could pay to increase staffing and funding at BOEMRE. Alternatively, Congress could consider the reallocation of federal resources or the direction of a small percentage of future OCS lease sale revenue as other viable alternatives.