McDonnell wants offshore drilling in 2011

RICHMOND

Virginia is poised to become the first state on the Eastern Seaboard to receive permission to tap potential offshore energy reserves and its incoming governor wants to take advantage of that pole position.

In a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that was made public Tuesday, Gov. -elect Bob McDonnell requested that the federal government move more quickly with a planned lease of ocean-floor parcels off Virginia’s coastline for oil and natural gas drilling.

A lease sale tentatively has been scheduled for 2011, though McDonnell and other Republicans worry that Democrats in Washington may stall the process.

McDonnell’s letter contends  that for about a year, there has been little movement to advance Virginia’s lease sale.

“Any effort to remove or delay Virginia’s participation in the lease sale would significantly hamper our efforts to create jobs, eliminate much-needed new revenue, and undermine support for President Obama’s stated commitment to make the United States more energy secure,” McDonnell wrote.

In an e-mail Tuesday, an aide to Salazar said the secretary “is reviewing the proposed Virginia lease and at this point he hasn’t made any decisions.”

Obama earlier this year said he wants a comprehensive energy strategy developed for the nation before offshore drilling advances in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.

That approach runs counter to that of former President George W. Bush, who near the end of his term worked to spur the lease sale off Virginia’s coast.

The path for a Virginia lease sale was cleared in 2008 when presidential and congressional moratoria on offshore drilling were lifted amid  national consternation over soaring prices at the pump.

 McDonnell’s Dec. 23 letter isn’t the first missive addressed to Salazar from top state officials.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine angered conservatives, including McDonnell, in February when he asked Salazar to postpone the lease sale. Kaine has been generally supportive of offshore exploration for natural gas, not oil.

A key component of McDonnell’s blueprint for fixing the state’s crumbling road network is to use revenue from extracting natural gas and oil at least 50 miles from the shore, though he knows it may be years before Virginia sees any of that money.

Estimates vary on the volume of natural resources resting beneath the ocean floor off Virginia’s coast.

The federal Minerals Management Service  has indicated there could be 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

To make his case, McDonnell’s letter cites a 2005 study that predicted natural gas production would create more than 2,500 new jobs, billions in capital investments and hundreds of millions in tax revenue in 10 years’ time. The study further suggests there may be up to 500 million barrels of oil in the lease area, the letter adds.

Study author James Koch, a former Old Dominion University president, has said the analysis was quickly compiled and that a more detailed examination of available data may be needed.

Local environmentalist Eileen Levandoski fears the potentially harmful ecological impacts of offshore drilling, or worse, an oil spill.

“Gov. -elect McDonnell’s Bush-era rush to drill ignores the tremendous economic value gained from sustainable activities such as tourism, recreation and fishing, which completely depend on clean water and clean beaches,” said Levandoski, Hampton Roads conservation coordinator with Virginia’s Sierra Club.

That disagreement notwithstanding, congressional action would be needed for Virginia to receive royalties from offshore drilling and state lawmakers would have to dedicate those funds for specific purposes.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com