“The Interior Department’s policies have sent a clear signal to energy producers and their employees working in the West and offshore – pack your bags and look elsewhere.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar protesting the Administration’s job killing oil and gas policies.
In his letter, Barrasso criticizes the Administration’s moratorium on offshore drilling and its onshore oil and natural gas leasing reforms. Barrasso warns that without a fair and efficient Interior Department, jobs and investment offshore and in the West will move elsewhere. He calls for the Department to create American jobs by promoting responsible development of all forms of American energy.
Excerpts of the letter:
Job Killing Policies
“Under your leadership, the Department has imposed a job-killing moratorium on offshore exploration, added duplicative and burdensome red-tape to the onshore oil and natural gas leasing process, arbitrarily cancelled existing oil and natural gas leases, and delayed permitting decisions. These policies are discouraging investment in American energy and threatening U.S. jobs at a time of high unemployment.
Administration’s Moratorium On Offshore Drilling
“The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a tragedy that has cost lives, hurt the economy, and damaged the environment. Nonetheless, one thing is clear – the Administration’s moratorium will further hurt the Gulf’s economy.
“Rather than seriously rethinking the scope or economic consequences of its first moratorium, the Department immediately issued a second moratorium that took a modified approach to achieve the same blanket shutdown. This political exercise has halted new offshore energy exploration and recklessly threatened jobs and an entire industry. It will also have severe implications for American production capacity in the future.
Onshore Oil and Natural Gas Leasing Reforms
“The Department’s mishandling of offshore energy exploration is compounded by a myriad of actions that undercut onshore oil and natural gas exploration. In January 2010, the Interior Department announced onshore oil and natural gas leasing reforms. Instead of increasing certainty by streamlining the process, the reforms create an additional round of environmental analysis and public comment that duplicates the existing reviews required under current law.
Wyoming Specific Examples
“In Wyoming, there are 1,059 unissued oil and gas leases that were sold as far back as 2008.
“The delays do not stop there. In the Buffalo, WY Field Office, there are 1,685 backlogged drilling permits. When individuals or companies bid on a lease at auction or pay the fee for processing their drilling application, they deserve a degree of certainty the government will respond in a timely fashion. Without a functioning Interior Department, jobs and investment on federal lands in the West will move elsewhere. These jobs are critical to Wyoming’s economy.
“The Interior Department’s policies under your leadership have sent a clear signal to energy producers and their employees working in the West and offshore – pack your bags and look elsewhere.”
Senator Barrasso is the only Republican to serve on both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee.
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