In one of the House Committee on Natural Resources’ first oversight hearings, a subcommittee held a hearing focused on restoring American energy dominance through offshore oil and natural gas development – highlighting the continued shift in tone in the new Congress and Administration.
Witnesses and members of Congress pointed out the myriad benefits of a robust domestic energy industry, including supply chain resilience, national security, economic opportunities, and progress towards emissions reduction goals.
Offshore production needed to meet global energy demand
Last week’s hearing kicked off the Committee on Natural Resources’ agenda of promoting American energy dominance, with members taking aim at lingering restrictions on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
During the hearing, Williams Companies’ Senior Vice President and General Counsel, T. Lane Wilson laid the groundwork in his testimony by pointing out that energy demand is expected to double by 2030.
In this scenario, intermittent solar and wind power will not be able to generate the required power alone – meaning additional oil and natural gas supplies are critical. Wilson argued that this trend continues well into the future, as AI and data center expansion could triple energy demand by 2040.
Federal lands and waters are one of the country’s most valuable sources of untapped energy resources that could meet this surging demand. However, under the Biden administration, the White House took steps to drastically limit oil and natural gas production onshore and offshore.
Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AK) highlighted actions taken by the Biden administration which lead to the United States currently having the lowest scheduled offshore lease sales “in a long time,” with only has three lease sales planned between 2025 and 2029. Making things worse, in a parting executive order, former President Biden banned offshore drilling in over six hundred acres of the Gulf of Mexico. Of the order, Republicans on the subcommittee wrote:
“The Biden administration’s January 6, 2025 withdrawal of 625 million acres of the OCS—spanning the Atlantic, Pacific, GOA, and northern Bering Sea—represents one of the most brazen retreats from long-term American energy security in U.S. history. […]
“It betrays workers, communities, and industries that depend on energy development, all while emboldening OPEC, Russia, and China to exploit America’s self-imposed weakness.”
Witnesses also made the point that absent an increase in domestic energy production, other countries will step in to meet rising demand. Committee witness Tim Tarpley, President of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, pointed to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, major producers with vast offshore resources, which stand to benefit from increasing energy demand:
“Restricting U.S. offshore production just means that the development will go somewhere else. The demand will not go away. Other countries will just reap the benefits.”
Witnesses agree: American producers follow the highest standards
American offshore production isn’t just key for energy security – it’s also better for the environment. Wilson pointed out that domestic production in the Gulf has a significantly lower emissions footprint than the global average:
“The emissions’ footprint in the Gulf is less than half [compared to the global average for deep water fields] because we don’t flare like other countries do. If we did not produce this energy, China would produce it, Iran would produce it and Russia would produce it, with much higher emissions footprint.” (emphasis added)
This holds true even when offshore production has increased. Tarpley told the Committee that from 2011 to 2017, Gulf carbon emissions decreased by 60 percent, even as oil production increased by more than 45 percent, as a result of American producers operating under the strictest environmental standards in the world.
Even minority witness Peg Howell, Founder of Stop Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic, recognized that American producers follow the highest standards in the world and that these standards carry over internationally where American producers operate.
Rep. Nicholas Begich (R-AK): “So you believe that [American oil companies] are operating with high quality, high standards of practices because they are American drilling companies, even if they are overseas?”
Howell: “Most of the offshore drilling that is done by American oil companies… I’ve been on some of those rigs myself in the North Sea… I can say are the same caliber as what’s being drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Bottom Line: Energy demand is going to continue to grow for decades to come, and choosing American energy means meeting this demand with the highest technical and environmental requirements in the world. Congress’ focus on offshore development within its first few weeks could signal a renewed focus in ensuring the country has a robust offshore leasing program that contributes to energy security while lowering emissions.
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