Americans Want More Oil Production, Support Offshore Drilling
Posted on July 23, 2014 at 12:58 pm by Rhiannon Meyers in Exploration, General, Natural gas, Offshore, Politics/Policy
Americans overwhelmingly want the U.S. to produce more domestic oil and natural gas, but few believe the federal government is doing enough to encourage such activity, according to an industry-backed survey released Wednesday.
The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Petroleum Institute, shows that 68 percent of voters across the political spectrum support offshore drilling and the same percentage say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supports offshore drilling in the U.S.
The Petroleum Institute released its survey of more than 1,000 registered voters as the Obama administration considers what federal waters should be opened up for offshore drilling in the coming years.
Related story: Feds launch planning for offshore lease sales
Industry trade groups, including the American Petroleum Institute, have pushed the administration to consider selling leases in the Atlantic, Pacific and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
New offshore drilling would create thousands of new jobs, pump billions into government coffers and strengthen national security by reducing reliance on other nations that wield their oil and gas supplies as a “destabilizing weapon of diplomacy,” API’s upstream director Erik Milito said in a conference call with reporters.
In the Atlantic alone, offshore drilling could generate 280,000 new jobs and $51 billion in government revenue, Milito said. Decisions made today affect the nation’s future as an international energy superpower, he said.
