OBAMA TO UNVEIL OFFSHORE DRILLING PLANS FOR OIL, NATURAL GAS - latimes.com
The proposal through 2017 will open new areas of the mid-Atlantic region, Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Mexico for production but prohibit moves off California, Oregon and Washington.
President Obama will announce new plans to drill for oil and natural gas off America's coasts Wednesday but will rule out drilling off California, Oregon and Washington state through 2017, administration officials say.
Obama's plans will include opening new areas of coastal Virginia and other parts of the mid-Atlantic region, Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Mexico for drilling. But officials say the president will block drilling in Alaska's Bristol Bay, where Bush administration drilling plans in 2007 angered environmentalists.
According to administration officials, the plan would:
Eventually open two-thirds of the eastern Gulf's oil and gas resources
for drilling.
Proceed with drilling off Virginia, provided the project clears
environmental and military reviews.
Expand drilling off the mid- and south-Atlantic coasts.
Study the viability of drilling in Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi seas --
areas hotly defended by environmentalists -- but issue no new drilling
leases in either sea before 2013.
The eastern Gulf of Mexico leases hinge on Congress lifting a moratorium
on drilling there. Even if that happens, administration officials said
Obama's plan included no drilling within 125 miles of the Florida
coastline.
The announcement, scheduled for an energy security event at Joint Base
Andrews Naval Air Facility, will be Obama's first major policy step into
the politically charged area of offshore drilling.
The president's drilling plans run through 2017. The likely scope and
details of the proposals represent compromises that risk angering energy
companies and environmentalists alike.
The announcement will come in the run-up to summer driving season, as
gasoline prices have begun a national march toward $3 a gallon, and
beyond that in California.
The administration is pushing expanded offshore exploration as a
bargaining chip in its attempts to enact sweeping legislation to curb
oil imports and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Energy companies and conservatives have clamored for increased drilling
since gasoline prices spiked during the 2008 presidential campaign.
Environmentalists contend that more drilling could lead to oil spills
and the destruction of fragile ecosystems.
While campaigning for the White House, Obama called for increased,
targeted drilling. In his State of the Union address in January, he said
energy security and job creation require "making tough decisions about
opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development."
But his administration has come under heavy criticism from Republicans,
who accuse it of dragging its feet on offshore exploration. Some in the
GOP accuse Obama of a de-facto moratorium on new drilling.
Shortly after Obama took office, his Interior Department retracted a
Bush administration proposal for drilling from 2012 to 2017. Later, a
court invalidated portions of the nation's existing drilling plan.
Wednesday's announcement will set out a new 2012-17 proposal as well as
more immediate plans for lease sales.
Administration officials said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, as part of
Obama's new drilling plan, will scrap a planned lease sale for Bristol
Bay. Obama will announce that he is reverting to the policies of
Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who both blocked drilling
of any kind in the bay.
Bristol Bay is a highly productive fishery and part of a Bering Sea
region that supplies 40% of the nation's seafood. Congress blocked
drilling there after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. President
George W. Bush removed the last impediments to drilling in the bay in
2007 and had scheduled a drilling lease sale there in 2011.
In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes more offshore
drilling, his spokesman said, but supports a proposal to allow expanded
drilling off existing platforms for a set period of time. After the
allotted time, the platforms would be removed.
Other governors, including Republican Bob McDonnell of Virginia, have
pushed Obama to allow more drilling off their coasts.
Pending legislation could give state officials a stronger hand in those
decisions. The crafters of a Senate energy and climate bill are mulling
over a provision that would allow states to choose whether to open
close-in offshore areas for drilling.
jtankersley@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, Tribune Interactive
Tags: DRILLING, FOR, GAS, NATURAL, OBAMA, OFFSHORE, OIL, PLANS, TO, UNVEIL
Views: 92
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by sesport on -
Hey, Keith! there was supposed to be a stick person that looked (remotely) like me sitting up there on the apex of that triangle. Did I get deleted again???
80) -
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Permalink Reply by P.G. on
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Obama's interest seemed to be focused on reducing our dependency upon foreign oil. I wonder when he or they will wake up to our abundant NG situation and start pushing to get the needed infrastructure for using it as a transportation fuel. Just a reasonable percentage of NG vehicles could dampen the price fluctuations we are seeing with petroleum.
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Permalink Reply by Spring Branch,mineral owner on
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There is speculation emerging that Obama is tossing out the bone of some increased offshore drilling while at the same time concluding that fracing the shales for natural gas will NOT be a part of his energy plan. Seems he would rather do battle with the environmentalists over drilling 50 miles offshore that do battle with them over "clean water" and well fracing in the Marcellus, etc. What a huge mistake that would be if we are interested in energy independence.
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Permalink Reply by Dorcheated A1 on
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This is no big shocker. Basically what he did is, appeal to the environmentalists to help him get elected in 2008. which they did. Now, having spent more than a year as the President of the United States, he has learn the stark reality of our energy situation. The price of oil is steadily going up, and may stunt, or even kill any economic growth we have .It’s time to throw momma from the train. Restrict drilling and you run the risk of killing any economic growth, and higher unemployment. Allow drilling, and piss off all the environmentalist. I just hope the environmentalist know how to roll when they hit the ground?
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Permalink Reply by ken hatcher on
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And anger every one in the Coal producing industry, compound them to the ones upset about Health care. He probably will not be beating that drum. More people are geting on board every day. I do not think he will fight Nat/Gas.
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Permalink Reply by Spring Branch,mineral owner on
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Hope like heck you're right Ken. I agree he won't fight Nat Gas heads on. He'll try to hide behind the environmentalists and the EPA .
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Permalink Reply by Spring Branch,mineral owner on
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They don't roll, they bounce, Dorcheated Al.
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Permalink Reply by Kat Bloomfield on
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aren't we all environmentalists? When did "e" become a derogatory term?!
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Permalink Reply by Dorcheated A1 on
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SBmo,
Thank you Sir, for the correction. I have not had the privilege of seeing this spectacle first hand, but boy, I would love too. -
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Permalink Reply by Rosebud on
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I don't want to contribute to a partisan food fight but old paranoid me wonders if this gesture which, considering that if everything progresses without a hitch, wouldn't actually accomplish anything for over a decade, might be a prelude to garnering Republican support for climate control legislation, Cap and Trade?
Did Obama so much as use the words "natural gas"? -
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Permalink Reply by ken hatcher on
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He did say Oil & GAS.
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Permalink Reply by Dorcheated A1 on
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Rosebud,
Maybe he’ll make it more transparent, than his transparency? -
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