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For Immediate Release
April 2, 2010

New Poll: "72% of U.S. voters believe offshore oil drilling should be allowed"

Editorials Nationwide Weigh In on President Obama's
Offshore Drilling Announcement

WASHINGTON - This week, President Obama announced that his administration will finally move forward with plans to expand responsible, 21^st century oil and gas production along select regions of our nation's Outer Continental Shelf. And while the main tenets laid out by the president -- expanding access to job-creating, homegrown energy offshore -- are welcomed and long-overdue, actually producing these enormous amounts of American oil and gas, that will help stabilize energy prices and drive down foreign imports, remains uncertain.

Barry Russell, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said that "we must move forward with commonsense policies that leverage American energy resources into jobs, economic growth, security and stable costs." This from his statement: 

• "Independent oil and gas operators - who produce 9 out of 10 wells nationwide - are eager to work with the Administration as this process continues to move forward. Bold action and sound national energy policies that promote domestic oil and gas production, especially offshore, will help drive down our dangerous dependence on unstable regions of the world to fuel our economy and keep prices stable for struggling families, seniors and small businesses during these difficult economic times."

IPAA In The News

• Houston Chronicle: "Barry Russell, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, welcomed the plan as a "first step to addressing the nation's future energy needs," but cautioned that the seven-year drilling blueprint only kicks off "an extremely long and thorough process" governing offshore leasing." (3/31/10)
  
   
• The Oklahoman: "Barry Russell, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said the announcement was a "welcomed first step to addressing the nation's future energy needs." Russell cautioned that the plan, envisioned for 2012 through 2017, will mean "an extremely long and thorough process" and said the administration and Congress should start moving immediately." (3/31/10)
  
   
• Miami Herald: "Barry Russell, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, called the plan a "welcomed first step,'' but added that the administration needs to move quickly on the offshore leasing process, which can take years. Otherwise,'' Russell said, "the U.S. will continue to further its dependence on foreign resources and send more American dollars overseas.'' (3/31/10)
  
   
• The Hill: "Barry Russell, the president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, had similar things to say. "The announcement today from the president is a welcomed first step to addressing the nation's future energy needs," Russell said. "For decades, Washington has failed to make the tough decisions necessary to develop a responsible, 21st century American offshore oil and gas program." (3/31/10)
  
   
• Oil & Gas Journal: "Noting that preparation of MMS's 5-year OCS plans is a long and complicated process, Independent Petroleum Association of America Pres. Barry Russell said it is important to remember that expanded offshore energy development won't occur overnight. "Given the lengthy process, it is imperative that the administration and Congress put their plans in motion today. Otherwise, the US will continue to further its dependence on foreign resources and send more American dollars overseas," he said." (3/31/10)

Loud and Clear: Americans Want More Offshore Energy Production

• Rasmussen Reports: "72% Support Offshore Drilling ... Voters support offshore oil drilling more than ever, and most don't agree with President Obama's decision to limit where that drilling can be done. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 72% of U.S. voters believe offshore oil drilling should be allowed. Just 12% disagree and oppose such drilling, with another 16% who aren't sure. This is the highest level of support for drilling found in nearly three years of surveying." (4/2/10)

Newspapers from Coast to Coast Weigh In

• Wall Street Journal, Editorial: "Drilling Bits; Less new oil exploration than meets the eye. ... The biggest news is the assent to drilling off Virginia, though that lease was already in the works and due to be bid out next year. Interior has now postponed the lease until 2012, for reasons it didn't explain but which gives even more time to environmental groups to sue over its implementation. As for the rest of the East and West coasts-nada. The Bush plan had allowed leasing along the North Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but Mr. Obama is effectively reimposing the moratorium on those areas. The President will allow a study of drilling along the South Atlantic coast. ... Add all of this up and yesterday's proposal had the net effect of putting some 13 billion barrels of oil and 41 trillion cubic feet of gas under lock and key, in return for blessing a few leases already underway." (4/1/10)
  
   
• Orange County Register, Editorial: "Obama ready to drill, or only shill? ... Although the devil is always in the details, President Barack Obama is to be commended for proposing to reopen a limited amount of the nation's Outer Continental Shelf for exploration, analysis, leasing and possible oil and gas drilling in the next few years. He has already taken a good deal of grief for his stance from people for whom opposition to any petroleum drilling is akin to a religion. ... We can expect lawsuits filed at every level of government, which might not prevent drilling in the long run, but will delay production. ... We will know the president is serious about increasing domestic energy supplies if he is willing to allow offshore drilling to be considered separately, on its own merits. If he insists on folding it into a "comprehensive" energy proposal, it will be obvious that the proposal is merely window dressing." (4/1/10)
  
  
• Washington Examiner, Editorial: "A muted cheer for Obama on energy ... But there is more -- and less -- to the latest Obama energy decision than simply opening up a significant portion of the OCS to tap the abundant new oil and natural gas resources that experts have said for decades can be safely located and produced. For one thing, Obama's decision delays for another year -- until 2012 -- the day when development off of Virginia's coast can begin, four years after federal bans on such activities were lifted. Even so, at least Obama has set a date certain for taking a significant step toward liberating America from dependence on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for two-thirds of our energy needs. The problem with Obama's decision is that it prevents far more of the OCS resources from being developed than it opens up. ... Estimates peg the available oil under Alaska's Chukchi Sea at 77 billion barrels, more than three times this nation's current proven reserves and greater than those in Russia. Perhaps that's why the only oil and natural gas exploration now being done in the Chukchi Sea region is by ... Russia." (4/2/10)
  
   
• Worcester (MA) Telegram, Editorial: "The most likely immediate impact will be the president and congressional Democrats using this week's headlines to leverage Republican support for climate legislation aimed at reducing carbon usage. That effort is likely to impose expensive new taxes and mandates on Americans, including generous subsidies for green and alternative energies that play only a small part in the nation's energy picture and may never be able to stand on their own in the marketplace. All Americans want a greener, cleaner future, but we can't get there on an empty stomach. The nation's appetite for energy must be satisfied if we are to maintain our economic health and national security. At the moment, Mr. Obama's energy menu just isn't offering enough calories to entice Americans to place their orders." (4/2/10)
  
  
• National Review Online, Editorial: "Drill, Obama, Drill ... With Americans paying less at the pump, and therefore paying less attention to oil policy, Obama was able quietly to reinstate the executive ban. But he now proposes to liberalize those restrictions, allowing some exploration in the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico. In exchange for what? Obama's energy policies until now have had one unifying theme: artificially higher prices for fossil fuels. ... The president's proposal is acceptable - as it stands. But it is not robust enough to be counted as an acceptable tradeoff for the kind of destructive energy rationing that has been a hallmark of his energy agenda thus far." (4/1/10)
  
  
• Contra Costa (CA) Times, Editorial: "The president said proposed leases in Alaska's Bristol Bay would be canceled and that he would limit any oil and gas drilling off the coast of Florida to no closer than 125 miles from the shore. Obama's more open policy on offshore oil drilling is welcome. We need to use traditional sources of energy while we develop alternative methods of producing power ... Oil drilling has been established off the Southern California coast for many decades and should be allowed to expand with environmental safeguards. ... The fact is Americans never seemed to mind using offshore oil as long as it was drilled off some other nation's shores such as in the North Sea, Persian Gulf or off Mexico." (4/2/10)
  
  
• The Oklahoman, Editorial: "Doing the right thing -- using American energy for America -- doesn't make bad policy better or more palatable. Cap and trade (or whatever focus group-tested name its sponsors are using now) would affect every corner of the economy. Even with subsidies and exemptions in the short term, it would erect a regime that one day would become a tax on everything that moves or is produced in this country, killing jobs and reducing Americans' standard of living. While thanking Obama for a wise decision on offshore drilling, cap-and-trade opponents should continue to stand fast." (4/1/10)
  
  
• USA Today, Editorial: "It's also true that when you're in charge of making the country work, it becomes clear pretty quickly that it's foolish to put any reasonable energy source, or energy savings, off limits. ... The nation doesn't have the luxury of instantly wishing away its dependence on oil. We need to do everything. That's especially true of drilling offshore for oil and gas. The math alone makes a compelling case. U.S. oil production peaked in late 1970 and has fallen 45% since then. U.S. consumption has fallen, too, but not nearly as much. To fill the gap, we now get almost 60% of our crude oil from a volatile world market, vs. 13% in 1970." (4/2/10)