WASHINGTON - Executives from major oil companies told Congress on Wednesday that more offshore areas should be opened to drilling to boost domestic energy supplies and reduce America's reliance on petroleum imports.
Oil companies have their best shot in nearly three decades to search for energy supplies in new offshore areas after both congressional and presidential bans on expanding offshore drilling expired last year.
President Barack Obama has said he could support some expanded offshore drilling as part of a comprehensive plan to help solve America's energy problems.
"The need for making more oil and natural gas available to Americans is clear. The United States' continued economic growth and prosperity depend on access to reliable and affordable supplies of energy," Tim Cejka, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Co, testified at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on offshore drilling.
"Here in the U.S., we have deliberately constrained our own supply by limiting access to promising areas for leasing, exploration and development," said Lamar McKay, president of BP America.
McKay pointed to government estimates that predict the offshore areas that have been off limits to exploration could hold 17.8 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The United States must import about 65 percent of its petroleum supplies.
Currently the government has leased tracts for drilling off the coastlines of Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts and offshore sites near Florida in eastern Gulf of Mexico had been subject to the recently expired drilling ban.
The Interior Department is reviewing a plan drawn up in the final days of the Bush administration to expand offshore drilling during the 2010-2015 period.
Virginia's Governor asked the department this month to delay leasing any tracts off the state's coastline.
Most environmental groups fear that allowing more offshore drilling would result in oil spills that would destroy beaches and kill birds, fish and other marine life.
However, Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Co., said advanced drilling technology allows companies to search for oil and gas without harming the environment.
"We can drill safely and efficiently with an ever-decreasing environmental footprint," he said. "The choice is clear. We can continue to import increasing volumes of oil and gas, or we can develop more of our own domestic resources."
Oil companies have their best shot in nearly three decades to search for energy supplies in new offshore areas after both congressional and presidential bans on expanding offshore drilling expired last year.
President Barack Obama has said he could support some expanded offshore drilling as part of a comprehensive plan to help solve America's energy problems.
"The need for making more oil and natural gas available to Americans is clear. The United States' continued economic growth and prosperity depend on access to reliable and affordable supplies of energy," Tim Cejka, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Co, testified at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on offshore drilling.
"Here in the U.S., we have deliberately constrained our own supply by limiting access to promising areas for leasing, exploration and development," said Lamar McKay, president of BP America.
McKay pointed to government estimates that predict the offshore areas that have been off limits to exploration could hold 17.8 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The United States must import about 65 percent of its petroleum supplies.
Currently the government has leased tracts for drilling off the coastlines of Alaska, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Atlantic and Pacific coasts and offshore sites near Florida in eastern Gulf of Mexico had been subject to the recently expired drilling ban.
The Interior Department is reviewing a plan drawn up in the final days of the Bush administration to expand offshore drilling during the 2010-2015 period.
Virginia's Governor asked the department this month to delay leasing any tracts off the state's coastline.
Most environmental groups fear that allowing more offshore drilling would result in oil spills that would destroy beaches and kill birds, fish and other marine life.
However, Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Co., said advanced drilling technology allows companies to search for oil and gas without harming the environment.
"We can drill safely and efficiently with an ever-decreasing environmental footprint," he said. "The choice is clear. We can continue to import increasing volumes of oil and gas, or we can develop more of our own domestic resources."
