Feds' offshore drilling plan draws praise here

Two south Louisiana congressmen, one former and one current, applauded a proposed federal five-year plan for drilling that would open vast new areas of the Gulf, the Atlantic and the Pacific to energy exploration and production.
“Expanding offshore drilling access in the Gulf of Mexico means more jobs and economic growth for South Louisiana,” said U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre, who represents St. Mary Parish in Congress.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the draft five-year drilling plan Thursday to a mixture of industry enthusiasm and environmentalist disdain.
The Interior Department said the draft plan includes 47 potential lease sales over five years, the largest number ever for a federal Outer Continental Shelf drilling plan. The lease proposals include 19 sales off Alaska, seven in the Pacific, nine in the Atlantic and 12 in the Gulf of Mexico.
“By proposing to open up nearly the entire OCS for potential oil and gas exploration, the United States can advance the goal of moving from aspiring for energy independence to attaining energy dominance,” said Vincent DeVito, counselor for energy policy at Interior, on the department website. “This decision could bring unprecedented access to America’s extensive offshore oil and gas resources and allows us to better compete with other oil-rich nations.”
The plan potentially opens 90 percent of the nation’s offshore energy reserves to production, the department said.
The second congressman to comment on the plan is Chris John, a Crowley Democrat who represented the old 7th Congressional District 1997-2005. John is now president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, a trade group that represents the larger energy companies doing business in the state.
“Combining the offshore sector with related pipeline and refining activities, the oil and gas industry has a $70 Billion total annual impact to Louisiana,” John said in a news release. “According to the Department of Interior, it is believed that over $1 trillion in net economic value is associated with development of the Gulf of Mexico over the past 20 years and the federal government has collected over $150 billion in offshore revenues.”
John suggested that Louisiana can serve as a model for environmentally sensitive energy production.
“The Gulf of Mexico is an example of how our country can explore and produce American energy while also balancing the needs of other stakeholders such as some of the best hunting, fishing, wildlife watching and tourism,” John said in the release. “Louisiana’s success in effectively achieving that balance is a shining example of what the United States can achieve in other federal offshore areas.”
In his statement, Higgins focused on economic benefits.
“I am committed to unleashing American energy potential and will continue to fight for Louisiana oil and gas jobs,” Higgins said.
St. Mary Parish prides itself as a staging area for offshore energy production going back nearly to World War II.
But the downturn in oil prices that started in late 2014 led to a sharp decrease in employment and tax collections in St. Mary and for the rest of Louisiana.