With gas prices up, we should be looking offshore

By Scott A. Angelle
Opinion Published in the American Press on July 18, 2021

As the supply of oil is now outpacing the growth of demand, gasoline prices are climbing across the country. Yet, the Biden Administration is asking OPEC — not domestic producers — for help to supply the U.S. with more oil. Enticing countries with lower environmental standards to enhance production will prove devastating to hard-working families, and actually detrimental to the Administration’s stated policy goal of combating global climate change by reducing fossil fuel usage.

It is clear that we need to be concerned with rising gas prices. America has experienced six recessions from 1973 to 2019, all of which were preceded by a spike in energy prices. According to the American Automobile Association, the average price of gasoline has increased 40 percent just this year, from $2.25 a gallon on Jan. 1 to $3.13 as of July 6. At more than a 50-cent increase per gallon of gasoline, the American people are now paying over $71 billion more per year, or $195 million more per day. Coupled with a 5 percent increase in electricity prices across the U.S. in the past year, the American people are now paying more for their energy.

Keep in mind the most negatively impacted among us from rising energy costs are those in poverty and senior citizens living on fixed incomes. While we search to expand alternative energy sources to help energize our future, we do not need to count on foreign sources to fuel our energy transition. A balanced approach to fix rising energy prices should be directed inward rather than relying on countries which do not share values with the United States. U.S. offshore leasing needs to continue without delay to have a balanced energy transition for the United States providing for the environment, energy, and the economy.

The facts clearly show U.S. offshore oil and gas is a viable source of energy at lower emissions. Recent research regarding carbon emissions reveals that U.S. Gulf of Mexico production has about half the carbon intensity per barrel of other producing regions worldwide. When it comes to flared or vented methane, the U.S. offshore industry has consistently been one of the best-performing provinces in the world with a ratio of less than 1.25 percent of flared or vented to produced gas.

Furthermore, according to a 2020 Wood Mackenzie report at least 73.4 percent of the oil imported to the United States had a higher carbon intensity than Gulf of Mexico production. This data bolsters conclusions in a 2016 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management report, produced under the Obama-Biden Administration, that found emissions would increase without new Gulf lease sales because foreign-produced oil would take its place, and “the production and transport of that foreign oil would emit more” greenhouse gases.

Put simply, oil and gas produced from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is better for the environment than oil and gas produced almost anywhere in the world.

The men and women of our country who wear steeltoed boots and hard hats have helped each generation of Americans overcome many challenges. They are ready to help us achieve a balanced energy transition without crashing our economy. Let’s bet on the American worker. They remain undefeated. All they need is common-sense public policy that understands we are fighting global warming, and not USA warming.

Let’s unleash the American spirit to replace these imported barrels, improve the health of our planet, create American jobs, fund infrastructure with the increased government revenue, and lower energy cost for Americans. It would be foolish to hold our current course, when the evidence shows we can balance all of our nation’s needs.

More, not less, U.S. Gulf of Mexico energy offers opportunities to create American jobs, strengthen American energy independence and national security, improve the health of Mother Earth, and help lower energy cost for every American.