Texas Insider Report: Washington D.C. In response to Department of Interior Secretary Salazars announcement earlier today regarding an updated oil and gas leasing strategy for the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Rep. Gene Green (TX-29) released the following statement:
Secretary Salazars announcement - that the Eastern Gulf of Mexico remains under a moratorium and plans announced in March to develop the Mid and South Atlantic are no longer under consideration - will no doubt have an impact on our nations desire for energy independence and I deeply
regret the loss of this potential oil and gas production.
However our immediate concern is and should continue to be getting the Western Gulf of Mexico back to oil and gas production at pre-oil spill levels.
In recent talks with
BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich I am encouraged by his willingness to work on specific problems with offshore drilling permit applications.
Nonetheless there is a genuine need to get clarification to industry on new regulations to allow for additional permit applications so we can then have more permits issued. Gulf energy production is vital to our nations energy security and independence and it is essential to the economic vitality of states along the Gulf.
Getting these permits issued means getting people in my district back to work."
