OCS drilling: Outlook hazy.
Salazar to revamp US offshore plan
US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today his department will revisit a proposal to open up the outer continental shelf, essentially scrapping an eleventh-hour plan put forth by the Bush administration.
Instead, Interior will take four-stage approach to compiling a new plan for the OCS, Salazar told reporters during a press conference in Washington today.
That process will include an extended public comment period, a comprehensive assessment of the resources offshore, a series of four public meetings and development of an offshore plan for renewable resources.
The new process is needed to combat “a headlong rush of the worst kind,” as he characterised the process that resulted in the Bush rule, which was implemented on the administration’s last day.
“It was a process rigged to force hurried decisions based on bad information,” Salazar said. “It was a process tilted toward the usual energy players while renewable energy companies and the interests of American consumers and taxpayers were overlooked.”
That plan would have authorised 31 energy exploration lease sales between 2010 and 2015 for tracts along the Atlantic coast and off the coasts of Alaska and California.
Industry officials characterized the Salazar plan was misguided and unnecessary.
“While I welcome greater public input in the regulatory process, I am disappointed by the Obama administration’s decision to delay moving forward on domestic energy development, especially at a time when our economy is struggling, unemployment is rising and state treasuries are suffering,” Independent Petroleum Association of America head Barry Russell said.
“We need to act quickly and aggressively to develop domestic energy resources that could provide energy, jobs and needed revenues for states. This unnecessary delay will hold America back, at the precise moment when we need to move forward the most.”
The public comment period for the proposal now runs through 23 September.
He said he expects the Minerals Management Service and US Geologic Service to compile all the information they have on resources in the areas proposed to be opened in the next 45 days, though he admitted that does not give the agencies time to gather new data.
Within 30 days after receiving that report, he will convene a meeting each on the Gulf of Mexico coast, Atlantic coast, Pacific coast and in Alaska.
Finally, he said he wants a plan for offshore development of renewable resources ready “in the coming months.”
He said his announcement will have no effect on the current five-year plan for offshore development, which calls for additional leasing off the coast of Virginia and in the Gulf of Mexico.
For a full copy of Salazar’s comments go here.