Studies Highlight U.S. Offshore Potential

Published Nov 19, 2014 1:48 PM by The Maritime Executive

Offshore oil and natural gas leasing in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts could create nearly 840,000 American jobs and raise more than $200 billion in revenue for the government, according to new studies released.

“The oil and natural gas industry is a rare bright spot in our economy,” API Director of Upstream Erik Milito told reporters. “The ability to safely develop new offshore resources is critical to America’s continued energy security and job growth.”

The two studies published examine the economic impact of opening the U.S. Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico to offshore oil and natural gas development. A previously released study in this series focused on the Atlantic OCS.

If the federal government begins holding lease sales in these regions in 2018, the three studies show that by 2035:

Pacific OCS development could create more than 330,000 jobs and raise $81 billion in government revenue

Eastern Gulf of Mexico development could create nearly 230,000 jobs and raise $69 billion in government revenue

Atlantic OCS development could create nearly 280,000 jobs and raise $51 billion in government revenue

These areas today are almost entirely off-limits to offshore oil and gas development but could be included in the federal government’s next five-year leasing program.

“Polling shows that 70 percent of voters in this year’s midterm elections support offshore drilling, and 57 percent do not think the federal government does enough to encourage domestic oil and natural gas production,” said Milito. “The next offshore leasing program is an opportunity for the Obama administration to let those voters know their voices are being heard.”

An interactive map with state-by-state results for all three studies can be found at maps.api.org/offshore. All studies in this series were conducted by Quest Offshore Resources, Inc. at the request of API and the National Ocean Industries Association.