Today, a Department of Justice court filing outlined another in a long line of delays in the Minerals Management Service's filing of court-ordered analysis on the potential environmental impacts of leasing in the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) during the current (2007-2012) five year plan.

We are disappointed MMS has again missed a deadline to provide the court with the analysis it ordered last April. This will delay investment decisions, the production of much-needed oil and natural gas and the creation of much-needed jobs.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama stated that there are "tough choices" to be made on offshore oil and gas development. The oil and natural gas industry stands as a ready partner in making the right choice-to create jobs while safely producing domestic energy.

Offshore oil and natural gas development is the right choice because it means thousands of jobs, billions in government revenues and the energy we need to fuel our economy. And it means more cleaner-burning natural gas to generate electricity.

We hope the administration will make the right choices, eliminate these delays to domestic economic and energy prosperity, and move forward as soon as possible with leasing in Alaska and the other areas of the OCS.