Va. officials upset by report that feds will delay sale of offshore oil leases

RICHMOND

Some Virginia politicians reacted with dismay Wednesday to reports that the federal Department of the Interior plans to delay drilling off the commonwealth’s coastline for at least a year. 

Gov. Bob McDonnell said he would “strongly oppose” any delay on drilling beyond 2011. And U.S. Sens.  Mark Warner and Jim Webb sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging him to move forward with the lease sale for an area off the Virginia coast for drilling “in a more expedited manner.”

Reuters news service reported Wednesday that an official with the department’s Minerals Management Service told an industry workshop last week that the lease sale will be put off until 2012, and could be delayed past that date.

The workshop was not open to the media. An agency spokeswoman, Eileen Angelico of Minerals Management Service, confirmed the comments to Reuters but said later that a decision had not yet been made to delay the drilling. She said Salazar was expected to make a decision soon.

McDonnell has used anticipated revenues from taxing offshore drilling as a key piece of his plan to raise money for transportation.

Last month, he wrote to Salazar urging him to move forward with the lease sale quickly. It had been tentatively scheduled for November 2011.

McDonnell said he remains “dead serious about trying to make Virginia the energy capital of the East Coast.”

“A big piece of that … is offshore production of oil, natural gas and wind,” he said. “We don’t need federal government delays; we need cooperation.”

Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, has filed a bill that would require that 80 percent of tax revenue from offshore drilling or oil exploration  go into a transportation trust fund.

In their letter, Warner and Webb emphasized that  drilling could  bring jobs to Virginia and add to domestic energy production.

“Support among Virginia’s political leadership for the development of oil and gas resources is strong,” it read. “Therefore  it is understandable that recent media reports highlighting additional delays are a source of frustration to Virginia and to a nation that is looking to turn around the economy while simultaneously addressing energy security.”

The Minerals Management Service   estimates that  there could be 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the area that would be leased – some 3 million acres about 50 miles offshore.

President Barack Obama said earlier this year that he wants a comprehensive U.S. energy strategy  before moving forward with drilling off the Atlantic coast .

Opponents of  drilling have said it could affe ct the Navy’s training and damage the environment. Alicia Wittmeyer, (757) 222-5216, alicia.wittmeyer@pilotonline.com