Not too surprisingly, the major ceremonies for the Trump administration's "Made in America" celebration July 17-21 were away from the US Department of the Interior. DOI nevertheless tried to spotlight its considerable contributions to the nation's outdoor recreation, which produced 369,190 of the estimated 1.78 million jobs DOI operations supported overall during fiscal 2015.
It was only the second-largest segment. The first was Energy and Minerals, which provided 838,690 jobs, or about half of the total. The segment's contribution in terms of value added and economic influence were closer to three quarters of each of those measurements, according to DOI's graphics.
Top officials at two of the three agencies most directly involved in oil and gas made their own reasonably strong cases.
"National security, energy security, and economic security are all tied to a robust offshore oil and gas industry," US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Director Scott A. Angelle said.
"With the Outer Continental Shelf contributing one out of every six barrels of oil produced in the US, this 'Made in America' energy is vital to meeting President Trump's and [Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke's] goal of energy dominance," Angelle said.
About 1.7 million b/d of crude is being produced in the Gulf of Mexico, BSEE said. This contributes some $2.8 billion/year from leases and royalties, which goes to the US Department of the Treasury. It also supports more than 300,000 jobs nationwide with capacity for years to come, BSEE said.
At the Bureau of Land Management, there were 40,143 leases covering more than 27.2 million acres, 520 of which were new in fiscal 2016. There were 2,184 drilling permit applications approved, 97,513 producible and serviceable completions, and 23,926 producing leases as of Sept. 30. Revenue from reported royalties, rents, and bonuses was nearly $2.63 billion.
Other responsibilities
BLM also manages non-energy minerals such as sand, gravel, and rock for construction; livestock grazing on 155 million acres of public lands; and mineral and energy leasing in national forests, the federal helium reserve, and recreation areas. It supported 374,000 jobs and provided $88 billion in economic output throughout the country in fiscal 2015.
"BLM strives to be a good neighbor in the communities we serve, while providing opportunities for economic growth as well as traditional uses such as ranching, mining, logging, energy development as well as recreational activities like hunting and fishing," said Michael Nedd, acting director.
Good federal energy resource management obviously is made to order for the new administration's "Made in America" celebration. The question now is whether BSEE, BLM, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will get the financial support they need to work well.
