The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
The Obama administration's decision to freeze the sale of oil and gas leases off the Atlantic Coast and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico threatens job growth and economic development in several coastal states, including Virginia, an energy industry spokeswoman said Tuesday.
For the oil-and-gas industry, the moratorium announced last week "is a big disappointment and a big setback," Rayola Dougher, a senior economic adviser at the American Petroleum Institute, told a gathering of business people. The Washington-based trade association lobbies on behalf of energy explorers and producers, refiners and oil-and-gas service companies.
Opening up additional tracts for deepwater drilling, something the Obama administration planned to do earlier this year, "would mean a lot of jobs and income" for coastal states, Dougher told about 100 people at a luncheon of the Old Dominion University-sponsored Economics Club of Hampton Roads.
But following the deadly explosion at a BP drilling rig near Louisiana and the nation's worst oil spill, the administration halted its plan for expanding offshore exploration for oil and gas in certain areas.
"As a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill we learned a number of lessons, most importantly that we need to proceed with caution and focus on creating a more stringent regulatory regime," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Dec. 1.
The administration's moratorium on new deepwater drilling until 2017 was lauded by environmental groups but blasted by the oil-and-gas industry and by several political leaders, including Gov. Bob McDonnell and Virginia Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner. McDonnell has promoted drilling off Virginia's coast as a way to foster economic development and reduce reliance on imported oil and gas.
Dougher acknowledged that some estimates of the oil-and-gas reserves off Virginia are modest. However, the estimates are outdated, and the industry has devised more sophisticated technology for sizing up reserves, she said after her speech at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel.
Virginia, she said, is in a good geographic position to benefit from exploration and development of oil and gas offshore. "We really don't know what's out there," she said. "We consistently underestimate what could be there."
Dougher said the industry created four task forces to study the BP explosion and oil spill. So far, two of the task forces have shared their findings with the Interior Department.
"It was clear that we weren't prepared for a spill of this magnitude," she said. However, additional regulation of drilling practices in coastal waters isn't needed, Dougher insisted.
Tom Shean, (757) 446-2379, tom.shean@pilotonline.com
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Thnk about it
I'm all for drilling off the coast here but there are some things that need to be thought about first. The first thing is, the jobs created are going to be those taken by people from outside the area. It's not like there's a bunch of oil rig specialists living in this area. A very small portion of the jobs will be available to locals. The workers themselves will spend some money here, but few will purchase homes in this area and most of their money will end up going elsewhere. After five to ten years IF there is enough oil and natural gas found to support a sizable industry, the area will see oil workers buying homes and settling here, spending the majority of their money in this area.
This is news?
This is nothing more than an oil industry PR piece. Of course that would be the industry position.
please keep thinking that way
It is just ashame to watch Virginia on a downward spiral. It is too bad the last election still does not stop decisions such as these. Hope things do not go to far before the 2012 Presidental election. Good luck folks.
if you only knew
I am living in an enviroment of oil wealth here in Norway. Also an enviroment of conservation and protecting that enviroment. This is the most green country in the world. If there was a good size find oil and gas off the Virginia Coast...there would not be any worries of transportation funding....school funding and a list of other needs would met. Of course what fun would it be if you could eliminate state taxes due to oil wealth. I think you could say that special interest groups are keeping Virginia hostage. Where is that independant Commonwealth of Virginia independance that I hear about??
thank you
As a Virginia Beach resident working as a contracter in the oil kingdom of Norway I thank you guys. My company has ordered 3 new off shore oil rigs this week because of this decision. You could call it an aircraft carrier size order. We are working to fill the future gap in energy porduction from this decision.