Areas off US coastline to be opened up for drilling

President Obama has outlined proposals allowing oil and gas drilling for the first time in vast areas of water off the countryÔÇÖs East Coast, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and possibly offshore Alaska.  The President said the expansion in drilling would balance the rising demand for domestic energy production with the need to protect natural resources. He said the country had to harness traditional sources of fuel as well as increase its production of renewables. The US has less than two percent of oil reserves but more than 20 percent of world consumptionÔÇöunderlining the need to ramp up production of cleaner fuels in order to meet demand. Obama pledged to protect areas vital to tourism, the environment and national security; and to be guided by scientific evidence. He also emphasized the efforts of his administration to curb oil consumption, citing the EPA and Transportation DepartmentÔÇÖs new auto emissions and fuel economy standards, as well as announcing plans to double the federal fleet of hybrid cars and trucks. The drilling proposals form part of a wider energy package to reduce US dependence on foreign oil. The plan calls for exploration in areas from Delaware to offshore Florida; however, the East Coast from New Jersey north will remain closed to development. The entire West Coast, from the Canadian to Mexican borders, will be off-limits. However, the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off Alaska might be opened to drilling depending on the results of in-depth studies, which could take place as early as this summer. Environmental groups welcomed the continued protection of Bristol Bay, one of the planet's richest marine ecosystems. The plan also proposes exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, in areas that are currently closed to development. Drilling would only take place after detailed studies of the proposed regions are carried out, which could take years. Oil and gas companies have expressed cautious approval for the new initiative; however industry insiders say it is impossible to know how much oil and gas the new areas contain, partly because some existing data is based on studies conducted 30 years ago. Current seismic and drilling data covers only a tiny part of the areas that would be opened for drilling, especially along the Atlantic coast. Now, new methods have been developed to acquire and analyze seismic data in waters that were inaccessible when geologists last studied the areas. The government has estimated there are between 7.5 billion and 40 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent in the areas under consideration for leaseÔÇöbetween one and four years of US consumption at current rates. The final decision on which areas would be offered for lease to oil companies will be included in the 2012-2017 lease plan, which is still under development.