U.S. energy policy

• Importance of the Oil and Gas Industry to the American Economy: A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the U.S. oil and gas industry added over $1 trillion to the American economy (7.5 percent of gross domestic product) and supported more than 9 million full- and part-time jobs in the United States.  Given the critical need to foster economic recovery in the United States, and the goal of increasing energy security, policymakers should support measures to allow for job creation and growth.
• Opportunity for Economic and Jobs Growth:  A recent study by ICF International estimated that the development of oil and natural gas on federal lands (including the Outer Continental Shelf or OCS) previously or currently closed could increase domestic oil production by as much as 2 million barrels per day, and natural gas production by over 5 billion cubic feet per day. 
• Over the next 20 years, such activity could create as many as 160,000 new jobs.  The ICF International study also estimated that domestic oil and natural gas development could generate approximately $1.7 trillion in federal, state and local government revenues to fund critical governmental priorities. 
• The recent moratorium on OCS development activities in the Gulf of Mexico will increase job losses and lower U.S. oil and gas production in the future.  While litigation and new moratoria standards are now being issued, the uncertainty surrounding this policy is likely to have severe impacts. 
• According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Administration’s six-month drilling moratorium (announced in May) would reduce crude oil output from Gulf of Mexico deepwater resources by 31,000 bbl/d (barrels per day) in the fourth quarter of 2010, and 82,000 bbl/d in 2011 (reaching 100,000 bbl/d by December 2011).  EIA also estimated that Gulf of Mexico natural gas production would decrease by an average of 0.05 Bcf/d (billion cubic feet per day) for the last six months of 2010, and by 0.25 Bcf/d in 2011.
• The International Energy Agency has said the moratorium will trim 30,000 bbl/d from U.S. crude oil production this year, and could reduce its 2015 forecast of Gulf of Mexico output by 100,000 - 300,000 bbl/d.
• One deepwater drilling platform in the Gulf affected by the moratorium would normally support about 1,400 direct and indirect jobs, translating to roughly 46,200 jobs lost as a result of the May moratorium, according to the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. These jobs pay an average weekly wage of $1,804; lost wages would be $10 million per month, per platform.
• The Interior Department disbursed more than $10.6 billion in royalties from oil and gas production on public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf in 2009, and over $23 billion in 2008.
• ExxonMobil and Deepwater: Over the past 10 years ExxonMobil has drilled 7,778 wells worldwide, of which 262 were in water depths of 2,500 feet or more. In the Gulf of Mexico ExxonMobil safely drilled a total of 35 wells in water ranging from 4,000 feet to 8,700 feet over the past decade. We currently operate 516 wells in the Gulf of Mexico, including 20 wells in water depths equal to or greater than 2,500 feet (total includes both producing and shut-in wells) and 111 wells in the Gulf at equal or greater than 500 feet depth.