Statement of NOIA President Tom Fry on the New MMS 5-Year Leasing Program

For Immediate Release                                    Contact:  Michael Kearns

July 30, 2008                                                       Nicolette Nye

                                                                          (202) 347-6900

Statement of NOIA President Tom Fry on the New MMS 5-Year Leasing Program

WASHINGTON – “The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) applauds Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne for initiating a new and comprehensive 5 year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing program today. 

President Bush recently lifted the executive prohibition on energy activity on the majority of the OCS, so it just makes good sense to begin a new 5 year OCS leasing program that considers and evaluates all of America’s federal offshore energy resources, rather than discounting a large portion of them.  

The Department's action today will allow it to reverse two decades of poor public policy where we have refused to even consider the energy available on the vast majority of our public submerged lands.  It is as if we’ve been bypassing several large grocery stores with a wide selection to shop instead at a small convenience store with a limited selection.

The energy resources on the OCS are vital to the nation’s economic prosperity, and safety records show that they can be produced in an environmentally responsible manner.  Now, with global demand for oil increasing, gasoline prices soaring, and an American public looking for relief at the pump, we must consider the entire offshore area that is owned by all the American people.

The National Ocean Industries Association and its member companies look forward to participating in this public process to determine where and when it makes the most sense to explore for and produce energy resources from the OCS.”

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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 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.