AmericasOffshore

Pro-offshore drilling Senator hosts hearing on US energy policy

San Francisco: Republican US senator Lisa Murkowski will chair a hearing starting today to look into US energy policy, in particular offshore resources.

Murkowski, senator for Alaska, and chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is assembling a broad energy bill.

Last week she and two fellow Republican senators introduced legislation that would boost offshore oil production for their respective states. The bills would increase revenue sharing with states that support offshore energy production activities.

Murkowski, Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), and Tim Scott (South Carolina) each introduced similar bills. The trio represent major areas of offshore drilling potential – namely Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.

The  Atlantic has been in the news for months because the federal government has advocated lifting a moratorium on offshore exploration on the eastern seaboard. That, in turn, has prompted numerous public meetings and some vigorous debate pro and con.

Much of the political reaction to the US government’s plans for drilling offshore in the Atlantic has been cautious and negative.

But others, like Murkowski and her colleagues, are more optimistic about the potential for offshore fuel, especially oil.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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