Today, the Gulf Economic Survival Team (GEST) released a report titled, “Restarting the Engine—Securing American Jobs, Investment and Energy Security,” illustrating the impact of the drilling moratorium and subsequent regulatory-induced slowdown in activity is having on the Gulf Coast economy.  The report confirmed what many businesses owners already know—the restraints on energy exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico have affected the entire country.  The report concludes that a return to pre-moratorium activity would jumpstart the national economy, create jobs across the country, generate more government revenue, and give Americans a more stable energy supply. 

Key findings from the report include:

• The data demonstrates that economic activity levels are much lower now in the Gulf relative to the capacity of the industry to operate.  The significant growth in plans and permit applications pending approval demonstrates that there remains a strong commitment and desire on the part of the industry to continue to invest in the Gulf.  However, the revised regulatory process is not yet working smoothly, and as a result, the system is struggling with the growing backlog.  Deepwater drilling plan approvals have dropped nearly 80 percent, and shallow water exploration and development plan approvals have dropped nearly 90 percent.
  
  
• Economic investment activity is proceeding at a much slower pace compared with historical trends.  The report concludes that if a pro-active regulatory pace were adopted, the results in 2012 alone would be 230,000 American jobs, more than $44 billion of US GDP, nearly $12 billion in tax and royalty revenues, US oil production of more than 400,000 barrels of oil per day (approximately 150 million barrels in a year), and a reduction in the bill for imported oil by around $15 billion. 

WHAT REPUBLICANS ARE DOING

The House of Representatives approved three bills as part of the Republicans’ American Energy Initiative to expand access to America’s offshore oil and natural gas resources.  These bills would end the Obama Administration’s de facto moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, resume delayed or canceled lease sales and allow for new offshore drilling to occur in areas with the most energy resources.  These bills would ultimately create 1.2 million jobs, cut foreign imports by one-third and provide $840 million in revenue to the treasury.  Yet the bills have still not been considered by the Democrat-led Senate. 

Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee approved H.R. 2150, the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act.   The bill would unlock the full potential of energy resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) by eliminating bureaucratic hurdles that prevent the construction of necessary roads, bridges and pipelines used to transport energy out of the Reserve once it is produced.  This bill serves as another part of House Republicans’ American Energy Initiative, and would create new jobs, support current energy related jobs in Alaska, and help lower energy costs by ensuring NPR-A resources are developed and transported in a timely and efficient manner.

Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved H.R. 2011, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011.  As part of House Republicans’ American Energy Initiative, this bill would improve our nation’s mineral policy by coordinating a government-wide survey of American mineral resources, demands and factors impacting mineral development, including workforce, permitting and regulations.

**If you would like your Boss’s efforts on energy to be highlighted in the future, contact Sarah Makin**

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