Press Release: NOIA Lauds Court Decision on 5-Year Oil and Gas Lease Plan

For Immediate Release:    Wednesday, July 29, 2009                                                                

Contact:  Nicolette Nye   (202) 347-6900          

NOIA Lauds Court Decision on 5-Year Oil and Gas Lease Plan

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals clarified its April 17 decision regarding the 5-Year Oil and Gas Lease Plan.  The court has established that the Minerals Management Service must properly consider the relative environmental sensitivity and marine productivity of different areas of the OCS under Section 18(a)(2)(G), and strike a proper balance incorporating environmental and coastal zone factors under Section 18 (a)(3)  for Alaska only, specifically leasing in the Chukchi, Beaufort and Bering Seas. 

In effect, the Court has upheld the 5-Year Oil and Gas Leasing Plan for areas outside Alaska, which provides welcomed certainty for operations and lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico. 

As for the Alaska OCS, the court has ordered the Department of the Interior to notify the court when it completes the required analysis and to file status reports with the court within 60 days and every 60 days thereafter in the interim. After the completion of the analyses, the litigants will have 30 days to file motions which will determine the future of the litigation.

“The decision allows the government to promptly complete its analysis of the Alaska OCS, which NOIA strongly encourages so that hopefully the same certainty granted to Gulf operations and leasing by this decision can be granted to the Alaska OCS,” said Tom Fry, President of the National Ocean Industries Association.

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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.  The NOIA membership comprises more than 300 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.