Washington (Platts)--23Feb2009

Allowing oil and gas producers access to the areas of the US Outer
Continental Shelf that had been off-limits to exploration and production could
contribute $273 billion annually to the domestic economy and create 1.2
million well-paying jobs over the life of the fields, the American Energy
Alliance, a free-market think tank, said Monday in a new report.

AEA, which describes itself as an advocate for free-market energy and
environmental policies, said granting industry access to the estimated 85
billion barrels of recoverable oil and more than 440 Tcf of natural gas would
over the life of the project contribute $8 trillion to US GDP and increase
federal tax receipts by $2.2 trillion.

"Unlike the $790 billion stimulus package lawmakers just passed,
increased offshore activity would fuel our economy without squandering
taxpayer funds," AEA said. "In fact, oil and gas is one of the US' only
industries in a position to put money into...the government's piggybank."

The organization on Monday placed a full-page advertisement in Roll Call,
a daily newspaper that covers Congress, showing a clear ocean horizon under
the words "What Offshore Energy Exploration Looks Like."

"As the American economy shifts its view toward finding ways to create
new jobs, generate new revenue and cultivate new affordable energy supplies,
today's ad from the AEA makes plain that every one of those things can be
found by looking offshore," AEA President Thomas Pyle said in a statement. "In
fact, the only thing you won't find offshore is any sign or sight of a well,
rig or platform."

Pyle added that while polls show a majority of Americans support oil and
gas drilling in areas of the OCS formerly deemed "off limits, the fight for
access to these natural resources is not yet over. Unfortunately, there's
growing evidence that restricting OCS access will be one of the first
priorities of the 111th Congress."

The Bush administration last year lifted a presidential moratorium on OCS
development and Congress, at a time when gasoline prices were near or above
the $4 mark, allowed a legislative moratorium on offshore E&P to lapse. Some
in Congress have since then suggested that the moratoria should be reinstated
to ban development in some offshore areas.