January 2012

Mr. J. F. Bennett, Chief

Branch of Environmental Assessment

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement

381 Elden Street

Mail Stop 4042

Herndon, Virginia 20170–4817

RE: Support Expanded Development for the 2012-2017 Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program and the KEYSTONE PIPELINE

Dear Mr. Bennett:

There are two myths re drilling and natural gas production. One that we could start drilling today and it would be years before we can free our country from foreign oil. The other, that we don’t have enough refineries to handle more production is spurious. Some of our refineries are not running at capacity now.

As far as myth one goes, every day we wait to permit and begin drilling puts off output a day longer. Start now! As for myth two Americans know how to work and we can have more refineries up and running before the first drop of crude is pumped out of the ground.

America has one of the largest untapped sources of crude and natural gas in the world. Capture it and we will free ourselves from sending billions to nations that hate us.

Drill now! - Build now!

As the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) begins examining areas for inclusion in its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the next five-year plan, I strongly urge you to consider the significant impact offshore oil & gas production has on our economy. Given its importance, I believe no area should be further excluded from consideration, and the federal government must proceed as expeditiously as possible to finalize the next five-year plan.

Quite simply, our economy and our tax base depend on the millions of jobs offshore and onshore production generates.  Currently, due to delays in permitting and production, there may be fewer jobs and fewer tax dollars at the state and federal levels for the next few years . At a time when a record 44 states and the District of Columbia are experiencing budget deficits, the government should be doing what it reasonably can to stem this $125 billion shortfall. Revenues from lease sales, bonus bids and royalties contribute billions to federal and state governments. In fact, between 1954 and 2004, production on the Outer Continental Shelf generated approximately $64 billion in bonuses, $3 billion in rentals and nearly $89 billion in royalties, all of which was distributed amongst federal, state and tribal governments as well as conservation funds.

As the national unemployment rate continues to hover under ten percent, we simply cannot afford to stymie efforts to bring oil and gas development back online. Delaying or limiting offshore drilling off the Gulf Coast states, as well as Alaska, puts at risk all of the workers in those states supported by the U.S. oil and natural gas industry – a total of more than 2.5 million jobs.

In order to spur economic growth by sustaining and creating a significant number of American jobs, we must adopt responsible polices and expand the development of our abundant oil and gas resources as part of a strong 2012-2017 Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

THE FIRST STEP IS TO APPROVE THE BUILDING OF THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE. NOW! NOT AFTER NOVEMBER! 

DRILL NOW! - BUILD NOW!

Sincerely,

B. David Brooks, Ph.D

bdavidbrooks@gmail.com