By Sterling Burnett, KERA 90.1 Commentator
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-519231.mp3
Dallas, TX –
During the next 20 years, the best estimates indicate that U.S. oil consumption will grow by one-third - even with the rise of renewable fuels such as ethanol and bio-diesel.
The U.S. remains dangerously dependent upon foreign nations for a majority of our oil needs. Many of these countries are either politically unstable, have governments that are hostile to U.S. interests or have economies that are mostly unfree, meaning that political calculations rather than market demand dictate the pace of oil development.
U.S. energy problems are compounded when one realizes just how vulnerable our domestic oil supplies are to nature's whims. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita demonstrated that from an energy perspective, we have put too many of our eggs in one very fragile basket - the Gulf of Mexico. Indeed, nearly 30 percent of the United States' off-shore oil production comes from the storm-ridden Gulf - 21 percent of which remains offline since the storms.
The U.S. has large deposits of oil offshore. Unfortunately, outside of portions of the Gulf of Mexico, coastal areas are off-limits to new oil production. Ending the moratoria on new production in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is among the most responsible actions Congress could take to ensure economic growth while also decreasing America's vulnerability to foreign powers.
The Minerals Management Service has estimated that the OCS contains more than 85 billion barrels of oil, more than quadruple current U.S. reserves.
These moratoria were put in place due to environmental concerns. Historically, off-shore platforms did occasionally have substantial spills, but technology has improved greatly in recent years. As proof, in the aftermath of hurricane's Katrina and Rita, despite the fact that the storms destroyed 111 production platforms and damaged 457 pipelines bringing oil to shore, no major oil spill impacting shores or wildlife happened. If a major spill had occurred, it would have been headline news in the papers and the top story on TV - it didn't, thus no story.
The U.S. is the only industrialized coastal country on earth that is not actively seeking new oil deposits off its shores. Canada and even economically backward Cuba are moving forward with plans to drill in off-shore areas that abut U.S. coastal waters. Since pools of oil do not respect national boundaries, Canada and Cuba will be accessing oil which could otherwise be developed by America.
Better late than never, Congress is considering bills that would end the federal moratoria on new drilling. Currently, production on the OCS is a net loser for coastal states. The Federal government gets all of the revenue from the royalties, leases and taxes, while the states suffer the harm from lost tourist revenue and to their coasts if spills occur. Bills currently being considered would allow states to opt out of the current ban on oil and gas production, and should they do so, they would share the revenue from new oil production with the feds.
It's time for Congress to put America's security and economic needs ahead of desires of powerful environmental lobbyists. These bills are a good start.
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D is a Senior Fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis.
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