NOIA President Randall Luthi Responds to Comments Made by Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Contact: Robert Myers, (202) 465-8464, rmyers@nullnoia.org
NOIA President Randall Luthi Responds to Comments Made by Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Washington, D.C. – National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Randall Luthi today issued the following statement in response to Heather Zichal’s comments at the Securing America’s Future Energy’s Summit on the Energy Security Trust Fund:
“The National Ocean Industries Association is dismayed by the White House position expressed today by Ms. Zichal, declaring any new access to the energy resources of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is ‘off the table.’
The Administration points frequently to their all-of-the-above energy policy and to the fact that domestic oil and gas production is on the rise. But the truth is that this increased production has come from state and private lands. Offshore energy development is limited to re-exploring the same areas that have been made available for decades, totaling just 15% of the total OCS. This does not sound like a comprehensive energy policy.
Today’s statement from the White House reinforces the frustrating truth: the Federal government is intentionally ignoring potentially vast oil and gas resources. It is foregoing potentially billions in additional revenue. Any additional diversion of existing offshore revenues merely drives up the federal deficit. Only new access brings new revenue. This hardly sounds like an all-of-the-above strategy to me.”
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ABOUT NOIA
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 275 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.
