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Thursday, May 08, 2008
Domestic Drilling Is Part of A Sensible Energy Plan
By U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman
New Mexico Democrat
Monday's editorial (“It's Time To Rethink U.S. Energy Strategies”) may have left readers with the impression that I oppose additional domestic drilling for oil and gas. In fact, I have consistently supported a balanced approach to energy policy, which includes both developing new sources of energy supply as well as better efficiency in energy use.
I have specifically supported domestic oil and gas drilling — both onshore and off — where it could be done in an environmentally responsible way, just as it is throughout New Mexico.
One specific example of this is the Outer Continental Shelf, a sizeable area off the Florida and Louisiana coasts that contains sizeable oil and natural gas reserves. In 2001, then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton cut by 75 percent the size of an Outer Continental Shelf lease sale that had been proposed by President Clinton. With the stroke of a pen, she took off the table more than 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and over 1 billion barrels of oil.
I opposed the Bush administration's decision at the time, because I thought it was more based on Florida politics than sound energy policy. Two years ago, I joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing legislation to reverse that directive.
Unfortunately, I ultimately had to vote against the bill because, in return for making some new resources available, it put off-limits a vast area of the Outer Continental Shelf — in effect taking 10 times as much natural gas off the table as it made available. While the Bush administration is moving forward with leasing the area that was opened, I believe that we will eventually come to regret the long-term effects of that legislation on our available energy supplies.
I have also supported policies to help oil and gas production in New Mexico, one of the most important oil and gas producing states. I have consistently led the fight to reverse budget cuts proposed by President Bush to eliminate research and development targeted at the needs of independent oil and gas producers who are faced with ever-more challenging geologies onshore.
I have advocated for greater funding for processing of lease applications and drilling permits, have fought for more personnel and resources for Bureau of Land Management offices in New Mexico, and helped create a dedicated funding stream for BLM offices throughout the West to speed up the processing of oil and gas permits and leases.
And I have supported reasonable development of the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska. What I have not supported is drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is also in Alaska. I have taken that position because I believe it is still too difficult to develop the area without significant adverse effects to land and wildlife.
With gasoline prices at record levels, we are also seeing record levels of oil and gas exploration and development. The number of oil and gas rigs operating in the United States is at a 20-year high.
Clearly, increased domestic production of oil and gas is an important part of a sound energy policy. But so is intensive development of our renewable energy resources, increased vehicle fuel economy, and the promotion of other forms of energy efficiency. Only by sticking with the broad and comprehensive approach that I have advocated for years will we be successful in keeping down energy costs for New Mexicans.
Bingaman is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
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