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on the

2012-2017 Proposed Program

 

 

 

For Immediate Release:                              Contact:  Nicolette Nye

Thursday, January 12, 2012                                       (202) 347-6900

                                                                                                 

 

NOIA Comments on Draft National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan

 

Washington, D.C. – NOIA President Randall Luthi issued the following statement on the Draft National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan released today by the Obama Administration:  

 

“The members of NOIA have long appreciated the diverse ocean resources and the tremendous potential they yield for energy, recreation, and jobs.  Our members also recognize that offshore energy exploration and development are not incompatible with other ocean activities.  For example, it has been well documented that a tremendous amount of marine life, many of which are rare or endangered, live and thrive in the reef systems created by production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 

“The goals espoused by the National Ocean Council Draft Implementation Plan are certainly worthy of attention; however some aspects of the plan are also of concern to our industry. In particular, the use of Coastal Marine Spatial Planning may very well be a multi-layered bureaucratic solution seeking a problem that doesn’t exist. Our industry has been successfully operating for decades, without major conflict, guided by the planning already inherent in the five year offshore leasing process mandated under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. 

 

“Thus while we believe the overall idea of coordination has good merit, the devil will certainly be in the eventual implementation of the Plan.   The good news is that there is an opportunity for broad public comment on the draft Plan.  We welcome the opportunity to be a part of the conversation as we believe the offshore energy industry has been underrepresented in the planning process.  We hope the process will provide sufficient time for the intentions of and need for the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan to be diligently vetted.”  

 

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NOIA is the only national trade association representing all segments of the offshore industry with an interest in the exploration and production of both traditional and renewable energy resources on the nation’s outer continental shelf.  NOIA’s mission is to secure reliable access and a fair regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation’s valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The NOIA membership comprises more than 270 companies engaged in business activities ranging from producing to drilling, engineering to marine and air transport, offshore construction to equipment manufacture and supply, telecommunications to finance and insurance, and renewable energy.

 

For Immediate Release:                                              Contact:  Nicolette Nye

Wednesday, December 14, 2011                (202) 347-6900

                                                                                         (703) 732-0801

 

 

NOIA President Randall Luthi Comments on WGOM Sale 218

 

Washington, D.C. – NOIA President Randall Luthi today issued the following statement on Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 218:  

“From our point of view the most important thing today is that this lease sale took place.  After nearly two years without a sale in the Gulf, companies are understandably eager to secure new leases for new projects, and we saw that today in the number of bids submitted and the healthy mix of majors and independents.  Clearly interest in the deepwater areas remains high, with nearly 85% of bids on deepwater tracts.  This reflects not only the expectation for the resource potential in these areas, but also demonstrates a level of confidence moving forward that lessons learned from last year’s spill have been internalized. This sale is a step in the right direction toward getting companies back to work producing new, vitally important domestic offshore oil and gas, generating much needed revenue for the cash-strapped federal government, and creating thousands of jobs, not just in the Gulf of Mexico, but across the U.S. as well.”

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NOIA is the only national trade association representing all segments of the offshore industry with an interest in the exploration and production of both traditional and renewable energy resources on the nation’s outer continental shelf.  NOIA’s mission is to secure reliable access and a fair regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation’s valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The NOIA membership comprises more than 270 companies engaged in business activities ranging from producing to drilling, engineering to marine and air transport, offshore construction to equipment manufacture and supply, telecommunications to finance and insurance, and renewable energy.

 

For Immediate Release:                                   Contact:  Nicolette Nye

Thursday, November 10, 2011                                         (202) 347-6900

                                                                                                         (703) 732-0801

 

 

NOIA Applauds News of Final Notice for Western Gulf Sale 218

 

Washington, D.C. – NOIA President Randall Luthi issued the following statement regarding the final notice of the Western Gulf Sale 218 today:   

 

“The final notice of Western Gulf of Mexico Sale 218 is welcome news. We commend the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and its employees who have worked to get this sale back up and ready to go.  This sale will help gauge industry’s confidence in whether the current permitting process will allow buyers to actually develop the leases they purchase.  While there has been improvement in the time taken to approve certain exploration permits, there is still considerable concern over the length of time needed for approval of exploration plans.  Operators in the Gulf of Mexico are seriously concerned with getting approvals to fully develop existing leases where significant amounts of capital have already been invested and known production exists rather than risking capital on new leases that contain more onerous terms and carry additional risks. 

 

Additionally, it remains to be seen whether the increased costs of minimum bids will have an effect on the bidding. Companies could forego bidding on lesser known tracts and thus the Federal government will receive nothing, not bonus bids or rental fees, for tracts that might have generated interest in earlier sales.”

 

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NOIA is the only national trade association representing all segments of the offshore industry with an interest in the exploration and production of both traditional and renewable energy resources on the nation’s outer continental shelf.  NOIA’s mission is to secure reliable access and a fair regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation’s valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The NOIA membership comprises more than 270 companies engaged in business activities ranging from producing to drilling, engineering to marine and air transport, offshore construction to equipment manufacture and supply, telecommunications to finance and insurance, and renewable energy.

 

For Immediate Release:                                   Contact:  Nicolette Nye

Tuesday, November 8, 2011                                (202) 347-6900          

 

NOIA Finds Proposed 2012-2017 OCS Leasing Plan ‘Deeply Disappointing’

Encourages Congressional Action to Provide Greater Access, Energy Security and Jobs

 

Washington, D.C. – NOIA President Randall Luthi issued the following statement regarding the 2012-2017 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Plan announced by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today:   

 

“A 5 Year Leasing Plan for the Outer Continental Shelf is the most important and defining action an administration takes in providing new oil and gas resources for building economic prosperity in this country.  Because the federal government completely controls these vast resources of the OCS, it is a greater measurement of an administration’s policy decisions than the energy development that we see in abundance on state and private lands elsewhere in this country, which are largely outside the scope of federal decision making.   At a time when other nations are increasing their access to explore and develop offshore energy resources, more than 97% of the federal OCS is presently not under lease.  This ill-conceived plan leaves us looking in the same areas we have looked for over a generation and would cast our energy reliability and security lot to the whims of other, often unfriendly nations.  While today’s decision is not unexpected, the lack of new access is deeply disappointing, and frankly bears little resemblance to the President’s announcement in March of this year – amid high energy prices – that it had set the goal of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025.

“A particularly disturbing omission from the next program is a lease sale offshore Virginia, despite clear support from the Commonwealth.  While we have seen a history of deference to states that do not want development off their shores, this represents a new direction in the history of American offshore development.  Despite the strong bipartisan support for inclusion from the Governor, the Legislature, both Senators, and a majority of the congressional delegation, and even its inclusion in the previous 5 year plan, they are being denied.   As the Department of the Interior has repeatedly made clear, it would not be issuing new permits if it was not convinced that it could be done safely.  If we can move ahead in the Gulf of Mexico to provide new energy and jobs to the nation, surely we can meet these challenges elsewhere in the OCS. 

“We hope the American public will fully engage in the upcoming comment period about the need to do more, not less, now that this long awaited plan is available for review.  We call upon the Congress to take up bipartisan legislation, already cleared by the House, which would provide greater access to the OCS, in Virginia and elsewhere, in order to provide new jobs, new desperately needed federal revenues to the treasury, and new energy needed to achieve the economic prosperity the nation so greatly desires.” 

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NOIA is the only national trade association representing all segments of the offshore industry with an interest in the exploration and production of both traditional and renewable energy resources on the nation’s outer continental shelf.  NOIA’s mission is to secure reliable access and a fair regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation’s valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The NOIA membership comprises more than 270 companies engaged in business activities ranging from producing to drilling, engineering to marine and air transport, offshore construction to equipment manufacture and supply, telecommunications to finance and insurance, and renewable energy.