Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) joined a group of legislators on Friday to urge the Obama administration to implement a plan that would open up the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for more oil production.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, the lawmakers called for a new five-year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Plan that would run from 2017 to 2022 to support more energy development and competitive lease sales.
“Opening our coasts to more oil and gas lease sales has the potential to create thousands of new jobs and billions in new capital,” Cassidy said. “The Obama administration’s last five-year leasing plan blocked 85 percent of our nation’s outer continental shelf from drilling. The next oil and gas leasing plan must expand lease sales to encourage energy development and let Louisianans take advantage of our natural resources.”
The previous five-year plan excluded areas off the Alaskan, Atlantic and Pacific coasts and implemented the lowest number of lease sales ever recorded.
Cassidy has championed the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, which would open up areas of the Alaskan, Atlantic and Pacific coasts for offshore energy production. The bill would provide access to approximately 2.5 billion barrels of oil and create 1.2 million jobs.
Additionally, greater access to the OCS for oil and natural gas development would generate $160 billion in new capital investment between 2017 and 2035, according to estimates.