U.S. Offshore Lease Sale Sparks Funding Controversy

Published Aug 14, 2015 6:54 PM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. government is offering 22 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico up for exploration next week, but environmentalists are campaigning for the White House to call off that auction until Congress reauthorizes a longstanding conservation program funded by offshore oil development.

Environment America has sponsored online advertisements featuring a smirking Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president, who prioritized conservation, and nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition calling on the administration to postpone offshore lease sales until the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is renewed.

However, America’s offshore energy industry body, NOIA, has spoken out in support of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s upcoming offshore lease sale.

“The call to delay next week’s Department of the Interior Western Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas lease sale shows how out of touch with energy reality and the American people some extremist environmental groups are, said NOIA President Randall Luthi.

“Due to low oil prices and increasing regulatory burden, this is not expected to be a momentous sale, but even so, the oil and gas industry will add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. Treasury. Offshore oil and gas activities have funded the Land and Water Conservation Fund for many years, even though there is little direct benefit to the offshore industry.

“Delaying the sale due to concerns that the LWCF has not been re-authorized is the epitome of the tail wagging the dog. The problem is with how the LWCF funds have been used, not with the funding source. These groups should be working with Congress to see that the LWCF truly reflects the needs and desires of the public and the conservation community. Their current effort would leave the LWCF with no funding,” says Luthi.

“This is just another misguided and desperate attempt to shut down oil and natural gas production at all costs, and ignores projections showing that U.S. consumers will rely largely upon traditional fuels well into the future. U.S. consumers are currently reaping the benefits of low gasoline prices. To delay or halt lease sales would result in fewer jobs, less revenue to governments, weakened energy security, and higher gasoline prices. ”

Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 246 is scheduled to be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on August 19 and will be the eighth offshore sale under the 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

Sale 246 will include approximately 4,083 blocks, covering roughly 21.9 million acres, located from nine to 250 nautical miles offshore, in water depths ranging from 16 to more than 10,975 feet (5 to 3,340 meters).