2016 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 116
BY SENATOR HEWITT
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to maintain
region-wide leasing in the Gulf of Mexico in the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf
Oil and Gas Leasing Program without any further exclusions or restrictions.
WHEREAS, the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has
released its 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program
which is now in its public comment period; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana oil and gas industry and its workers, suppliers, and the
entire business community have expressed their strong support for offshore energy
exploration in comments filed with BOEM concerning the development of the federal
government's "Five-Year Plan" for offshore oil and gas leasing program for 2017-2022; and
WHEREAS, the American economy is truly dependent on and stimulated by the oil
and gas production of the Gulf of Mexico; and
WHEREAS, the Gulf of Mexico provides nearly twenty percent of the nation's crude
oil supply, an energy supply that powers our entire country; and
WHEREAS, the oil and gas industry in the United States remains a stable force
around the globe due to the Gulf's output of natural resources; and
WHEREAS, in Fiscal Year 2014 alone, Gulf of Mexico energy development
supported over six hundred fifty thousand jobs, contributed over $64 billion in gross
domestic product, and provided over $7 billion in revenue to the federal government; and
WHEREAS, offshore energy development and production in the Gulf of Mexico is
vital to the economic well-being of the Gulf Coast states, coastal communities, and the entire
nation; and
WHEREAS, as BOEM itself recognizes in their 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf
Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program, the Gulf is ". . . one of the richest oil and natural gas
regions in the world . . ." and concluded that removal of the Gulf of Mexico from the next
leasing program would cause incremental environmental and social costs estimated between
$5 billion to $13 billion due to a greater reliance on energy from other sources; and
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WHEREAS, Louisiana has been consistently ranked number two in the nation in
natural gas production, ranked in the top five in oil production, and our refining capability
is second only to Texas, our close friend and neighbor-state; and
WHEREAS, because of Louisiana's enviable energy infrastructure, the state and its
citizens not only benefit from the production of oil and natural gas but additionally benefit
from the transportation of hydrocarbons via pipelines to Louisiana's refineries and
petrochemical plants; and
WHEREAS, our nation's energy policy is dependent on a thriving oil and natural gas
industry in the Gulf of Mexico and requires continued and expanded access to all areas of
the Gulf of Mexico to increase and improve the economic well-being of residents, workers,
and businesses in the Gulf states region; and
WHEREAS, our nation's energy policy directly affects our trade policy with other
countries, our workforce, our economy, and our position as a global super-power to protect
our interests at home and abroad.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby recognize that it is in the best interest of Louisiana's citizens and businesses and
those of the entire nation and does hereby respectfully urge and request the United States
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to maintain region-wide leasing in the Gulf of Mexico
in the 2017-2022 program without any further exclusions or restrictions.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the United States Department of the Interior and the members of Louisiana's
congressional delegation, and be submitted to the appropriate Federal Register comment
docket related to the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed
Program (BOEM-2016-0003) and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(BOEM-2016-0002).
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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