By VICTOR SKINNER | THE CENTER SQUARE
Business leaders across the country have joined together to call on the Biden administration to boost domestic energy production and to abandon a proposal to ban new offshore lease sales.
More than 200 local chambers of commerce in 47 states and 14 national associations penned a letter to President Joe Biden this week to urge him “to strengthen our energy security by removing impediments to greater domestic energy production.”
Included on that list is the Alaska Chamber of Commerce, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Haines Chamber of Commerce.
The letter calls for:
- Ending the ban on new oil and natural gas exploration on federal lands and waters. Federal lands and waters were responsible for 22 percent of all U.S. oil production and 12 percent of natural gas. Taking these resources off the table has a significant impact on U.S. and global energy supply, today and decades into the future.
- Restoring cancelled lease sales. Cancelling oil and gas lease sales sends the wrong message to producers and investors.
- Adopting a 5-Year Plan for Oil and Gas Development that Allows the U.S. to Maximize Offshore Potential: For the first time in history, the 5-Year Plan was allowed to expire. On July 1, the Department of Interior proposed a new plan that included an option to completely shut down offshore exploration by allowing no new leases, creating even more uncertainty. It is not reasonable to ask that companies make major, long-term investments without knowing whether exploration will even be permitted. We urge the adoption of a new 5-year plan by the end of the year that includes the maximum possible number of lease sales.
“High energy prices remain a major concern for businesses throughout the United States and are a leading cause of inflation,” the letter read. “Businesses of all sizes are facing burdens from increased costs for goods, services, and transportation, which combined with tight labor markets, presents major headwinds for the U.S. economy.”
The letter argued that addressing climate change and energy security “are not mutually exclusive” and increasing domestic oil and natural gas production can “accelerate the energy transition” while simultaneously curbing cash to Russia and improving the lives of Americans.
“Also, Russian oil is among the dirtiest in the world, so displacing it with cleaner, less carbon intensive U.S. production would bring obvious environmental benefits,” the letter read.
Business leaders pointed to the Biden administration’s “mixed signals” on domestic energy production and outlined three major issues that should be addressed: Ending the ban on new oil and natural gas exploration on federal lands and waters, restoring canceled oil and gas lease sales and adopting a five-year plan for oil and gas development that allows the U.S. to maximize offshore potential.
“Federal lands and waters were responsible for 22 percent of all U.S. oil production and 12 percent of natural gas. Taking these resources off the table has a significant impact on U.S. and global energy supply, today and decades into the future,” the letter read.
“On July 1, the Department of Interior proposed a new plan that included an option to completely shut down offshore exploration by allowing no new leases, creating even more uncertainty,” it continued. “It is not reasonable to ask that companies make major, long-term investments without knowing whether exploration will even be permitted.
“We urge the adoption of a new 5-year plan by the end of the year that includes the maximum possible number of lease sales,” business leaders wrote.
The letter came around the same time OPEC – the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries – announced plans to cut back on oil production, a move that’s expected to contribute to a spike in energy prices in the U.S.
