Maine Gov. Janet T. Mills (D) formally withdrew the state from the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition on Feb. 25. The organization’s work promoting the expansion of US offshore oil and gas activity is not compatible with the state’s interests, she told Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R), who chairs the coalition.
“My concern instead is protecting coastal Maine from the potentially devastating effects of this industrial activity,” Mills said.
Opposition to offshore oil and gas activity off the Pine Tree State’s coast is bipartisan and overwhelming, she said. Its congressional delegation is unanimously against it, and the state’s Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed a joint resolution last year declaring that offshore drilling and exploration would endanger commercial fishing jobs and be an economic and ecological disaster, the governor said. “I couldn’t agree more,” she added.
“My opposition to new or expanded offshore oil and gas drilling is in alignment with the positions of the governors of other East and West Coast states. I intend to work with those governors to fight any federal proposal that would open the waters off the Maine coast to this activity,” Mills said.
Such opposition among state governors who are Democrats is not surprising. But there are several across the country who have proposed ambitious renewable and alternative energy initiatives instead. These include chief executives in producing states, including Jared Polis in Colorado and Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico.
Republican governors in producing states can’t be characterized as oil and gas cheerleaders either these days. They simply didn’t mention the industry much (if at all) in their 2019 State of the State addresses and listed other priorities instead.
“We all know that Texas leads the nation in areas like oil and gas. Importantly though, Texas is in the middle of an innovation renaissance that weans our economy off of energy,” Gov. Greg Abbot said on Jan. 31.
Neglecting opportunities
“Since Prudhoe Bay came online, we have become more narrowly focused on oil and government programs as the basis for our economy, while neglecting other opportunities that could create more jobs and wealth for our state,” Alaska Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy said.
The nation’s northernmost state must attract other industries and investments to fully realize its potential, including its global location, vast resources, and “unbridled quality of life”, Dunleavy said.
Their comfort apparently stems from ample, low-cost domestic supplies that allow them to address other priorities. It’s safe to bet that they also appreciate the jobs oil and gas activity provides and the taxes which are generated. This ultimately could matter more than the Maine governor’s opposition to offshore drilling.
About the Author
Nick Snow
NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.