Federal waters off Florida should remain part of the proposed 2019-24 US Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing plan, officials from the International Association of Drilling Contractors and the Florida Petroleum Council separately said at a Feb. 8 public hearing in Tallahassee.
“The state of Florida often points to its beaches and thriving tourism industry as justification for its exclusion from drilling activity. The reality is that outdoor tourism and offshore oil and gas exploration and production can coexist, and we believe that they should,” IADC Pres. Jason McFarland maintained at the US Bureau of Energy Management hearing.
McFarland said the eastern Gulf of Mexico could contain an estimated 3.6 billion bbl of crude oil, which would in turn support 230,000 jobs and contribute $18 billion/year to the nation’s economy. “And for Florida, the available data indicate that the recoverable resources lie 100 miles or more off the coast, far from the beaches and the view of tourists who can only see 3-12 miles out on the horizon,” McFarland said.
The US Energy Information Administration predicts that the country’s energy demand will increase, and it expects the US to require 40% more energy in 2040 than it did in 2012, McFarland said. “This will require us, as a nation, to thoughtfully and responsibly develop all areas with technically recoverable resources, including offshore areas that have historically not been offered in lease sales,” he said.
“While Florida might want to claim ownership of waters beyond the state’s boundary, the fact remains that those waters where oil and gas activities would occur are located on the Outer Continental Shelf and belong to all Americans,” McFarland said.
David Mica, FPC executive director, noted that including Florida in the 2019-24 OCS Plan is critical to enabling residents to secure Florida’s long-term economic future with tax revenue, jobs, and industries to support energy development.
“The Atlantic OCS has not been surveyed in more than 30 years, and with rapid advancements in safety and assessment technologies in the past decade, we can safely and accurately determine what energy potential exists off our coasts,” Mica said. “Gathering data on our long-term energy resources is a critical step in strengthening our national security and making America energy self-sufficient in the long term.”
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