Offshore Oil-and-Gas Order May Boost Infrastructure Jobs

Energy interests say an executive order signed by President Trump on April 28 will present new opportunities for offshore oil and gas development and related construction activities.

Randall Luthi, president of the National Offshore Industry Association, said Trump’s directive “can be used to craft a long-term, consistent energy blueprint to provide jobs, state and federal revenue, and economic and energy security for America,” The group represents contractors and other companies that work offshore.

Among other actions, Trump ordered a reversal of a policy that banned leasing in the Arctic and instructed the Interior Dept. to review the 2017-22 leasing plan and a well-control rule instituted after the 2010 BP oil spill.

The moves could lead to opening parts of the Atlantic for offshore exploration and production. The oil-and-gas industry says the regulations and restrictions put in place by the Obama administration increased costs by up to 50% for their businesses, which already are suffering from the low price of oil. Environmental groups promised to fight the executive order in court.

Pam Radtke Russell is a New Orleans-based journalist with more than a decade covering energy, environment and climate for ENR, Platts, CQ Roll Call in Washington D.C. and the Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

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