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Press Release

For Immediate Release
July 14, 2008
Contact: Sean C. Bonyun
(202) 225-3761

Upton Echoes Calls for Congress to Lift Ban on Offshore Drilling

China has been given license to drill off the Florida Keys in Cuban waters, yet Congress has locked away our own resources in the Outer Continental Shelf

WASHINGTON, DC –Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), top Republican
on the House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, applauded today's
lifting of the executive ban on exploration of the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS).  The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) conservatively
estimates that the Outer Continental Shelf contains nearly 86 billion
barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.  Now all that
remains to unlock the resources of the OCS is congressional approval.
Currently, 97 percent of America's 1.76 billion acres of OCS lands are
not being used for their energy potential. 

"With the lifting of the executive ban, the last remaining obstacle
blocking offshore drilling is Congress," said Upton.  "It is especially
troubling that China has been given license to drill off the Florida
Keys in Cuban waters, yet Congress has locked away our own resources in
the Outer Continental Shelf.  Voting to unlock the OCS, Congress will
send an immediate signal to the world markets that the United States is
serious about increasing its domestic supply.  We already have much of
the infrastructure in place in the Gulf of Mexico to expedite production
- and although it may be several years until oil is flowing, the OCS is
an important component to charting our nation on a course towards energy
independence."

The lifting of the executive ban contrasts with today's front-page
headline in Capitol Hill's Roll Call that read, "Pelosi Maneuvers to
Block Drilling Votes."  Upton believes that continued inaction on our
energy needs at the national level will devastate our economy as the
U.S. currently imports nearly 70 percent of our oil demand and is
estimated to import as much as 85 percent of our petroleum needs by
2012. While global oil production fell by 126,000 barrels a day in 2007,
consumption grew by a million barrels a day.  India's and China's energy
consumption continue to grow by more than 10 percent a year, yet
Congress insists on locking away America's vast resources. 

"The budgets of working families in Michigan and across the country are
already at a breaking point, yet the Democratic leadership insists on
blocking votes that would increase our domestic production and bring
down prices," said Upton.  "Simple high-school economics dictates that
as demand outpaces supply, prices go up.  Unless China and India
abruptly detour from their industrialization, prices are going to
continue to skyrocket.  America's working families, already struggling
to make ends meet, are desperate for leadership and cannot afford
further inaction."

Federal law has prohibited American energy production in most of the OCS
since 1982.  With the lifting of the executive ban, in place since 1990,
the only ban that remains is the Congressional moratorium.  Upton has an
extensive legislative history of supporting measures to increase U.S.
production - including his consistent support of environmentally
responsible drilling of ANWR since 1995.  Upton also supported the Deep
Ocean Energy Resources Act which passed the House in 2006 but failed to
become law.  The measure would have implemented a flexible framework in
which coastal states had complete authority over the first 100 miles off
their shores and the federal government had authority to produce energy
in the deep waters beyond.

Upton believes that increased domestic exploration is just one piece of
the overall puzzle in meeting the energy needs of future generations.
Upton also believes that we should also make a long-term commitment to
renewable energy sources like wind and solar, the promotion of clean
coal technologies and emissions-free nuclear power, and increased
conservation through mass transit as well as efficient technologies.

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