The US Government’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Strategy
- A Balancing Act for Energy Security
Reference Code: GDGE0623VPT Publication Date: MAY 2010
2 Summary
1 Table of Contents The Federal government proposed the US Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) Strategy in March 2010. The strategy opens new
1 Table of Contents ...............................................................1 areas for the exploratory development of oil and gas resources
1.1 List of Tables ...............................................................1
in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the Florida Coast, the
1.2 List of Figures..............................................................1
2 Summary ............................................................................1 Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Ocean off the Mid-Atlantic and South
3 The US Government’s Outer Continental Shelf Strategy - A Atlantic states without compromising the protection of fisheries,
Balancing Act for Energy Security .............................................1 tourism and other coastal areas. However, Alaska’s Bristol Bay
3.1 Declining Domestic Reserves and Need for Reducing and certain other coasts are protected from exploration activity
Oil Imports has Paved way for Leasing in Outer Continental as per the new program. The strategy intends to enhance US
Shelf (OCS)............................................................................2 energy security by improving domestic exploration in the
3.2 Proposals to Open Drilling Offshore Leases will drive
reserve potential frontiers while simultaneously addressing the
the Domestic Oil Production...................................................3
3.3 Anticipated Resistance from Environmentalists has environmental concerns. The government plans to reduce its oil
driven the Government to Inhibit Exploration in Certain imports by increasing their access to the OCS reserves and
Resource-Rich, Environmentally-Sensitive Frontiers .............4 hence encouraging the domestic oil and gas industry, creating
3.4 Development of Oil Reserves in OCS will Drive Energy jobs and generating revenues from lease sales.
Security and Aid the Ailing Domestic Oil and Gas Industry....4
4 Appendix ............................................................................5 3 The US Government’s Outer
4.1 Methodology................................................................5
4.2 Contact Us ..................................................................6
Continental Shelf Strategy - A
4.3 Disclaimer ...................................................................6 Balancing Act for Energy Security
In March 2010, the Federal government has planned to open
offshore drilling leases for oil and natural gas along the Atlantic
1.1 List of Tables Coastline, the eastern GOM and the north coast of Alaska. The
new plan offers access to the vast areas of the OCS for drilling.
Table 1: The US, Crude Oil Reserves, Million Barrels,
2000-2009 2 The plan inhibits oil and gas development activity on the
Table 2: The US, Historic Production and Consumption of coastline from New Jersey northwards and the Pacific Coast,
Crude Oil (1000 Barrels per Day), 2000-2009 from Mexico to the Canadian border and Bristol Bay in
2 southwestern Alaska. The plan proposes leases for exploration
Table 3: The US, Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning and drilling in large tracts of the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea
Area Acreage, 2010 3 in the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska, after appropriate
Table 4: The US, Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planned
environmental approvals. The Federal government’s
Area Acreage, 2010 4
responsibility to protect major Alaskan commercial fisheries and
endangered whales has made them hold back permission for oil
and gas development in the Federal waters of Bristol Bay. The
1.2 List of Figures government is likely to support the exploration and drilling of
Figure 1: The US, Newly Approved Exploration Areas, 2010 approximately 130 million acres as per the new plan. The
3 drilling in newly opened areas is expected to commence after
Figure 2: The US, Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas the conclusion of geological studies, environmental impact
Strategy, 2010 3 statements, court challenges and public lease sales. The
Figure 3: The US, OCS Oil and Gas Strategy, 2010 3