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Our Ocean Legacy In the NewsTallahassee Democrat - 6/20/2008
DOE: New drilling would take 22-years to help, would not be significant (new window)
WASHINGTON - Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy published a study
on the potential benefits of lifting federal restrictions on oil
drilling along the Outer Continential Shelf in the Pacific, Atlantic
and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The examination, described in its "Annual Energy Outlook 2007" report, assumed that the current moratorium on drilling would expire as scheduled in 2012 and not be reinstated. It assumed exploration and development would begin immediately in 2012. It found: "Access to the Pacific, Atlantic and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030." "For the lower 48 OCS, annual crude oil production in 2030 is projected to be 7 percent higher." "Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant." "In addition, despite the increase in production from previously restricted areas after 2012, total natual gas production from the lower 48 OCS is projected generally to decline after 2020." |