03.15.16

Sullivan Statement on Interior Department’s Proposed 5 Year OCS Plan

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) released the following statement today regarding the Department of Interior’s proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017-2022 in Alaska:

“While on the surface the Department of the Interior’s proposed OCS lease plan – which includes acreage in Cook Inlet and the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas – sounds positive, it’s akin to a car dealership announcing a lease sale without providing any keys. For production to be realized and for Alaska to benefit, there needs to be regulatory certainty and a willingness on the part of the Executive Branch to work with, instead of against, lease holders. The energy industry was watching Shell’s ordeal in the Arctic closely. Largely as a result of confusing and conflicting regulations, that company spent seven years and $7 billion to drill a single well.  Few, if any companies, could afford a repeat.”

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