A US Department of Energy Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing on the draft of a new act to open up more of the US Outer Continental Shelf.
The “ASTRO Act” would add flexibility to the national oil and gas leasing process by giving the Secretary of the Interior the authority to conduct lease sales in areas excluded from approved 5 Year Plans. It also limits the president’s authority to withdraw OCS areas from leasing.
Under the previous administration, 94% of America’s OCS lands were off limits to development through both the 5-Year Plan process and the withdrawal of acreage.
The ASTRO Act bill is part of the Committee’s broader overhaul of federal lands energy policy.
According to the department, studies show that opening the OCS in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Eastern Gulf would create 840,000 new jobs and generate over US$200 billion in revenues.
The “ASTRO Act” establishes revenue sharing for states in the Mid and Southern Atlantic planning areas, in an attempt to fairly compensate the qualifying producing states, and to ensure disbursement certainty into the future.
“Our nation should produce more of the oil and natural gas Americans need here at home. And it can. This would strengthen our energy security and help put downward pressure on prices while also providing many thousands of new jobs for Americans and billions of dollars in additional revenue for our government,” Director of Upstream and Industry Operations at the American Petroleum Institute Erik Milito said.
“Our offshore oil and gas industry provides our nation and the world with a safe and reliable source of energy, billions of dollars in revenues to the government, and has resulted in the creation of millions of direct and indirect jobs across the country. It is critical that we maintain and increase access to offshore exploration and production to improve upon these trends,” Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) said.
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