Access to OCS
In Brief

Access to the Outer Contintental Shelf (OCS)

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) estimates that total undiscovered,
technically recoverable Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) resources are approximately 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion
cubic feet of gas. These estimates may well be low as most offshore areas outside the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska have been
under moratoria for decades, and the industry will not know their full resource potential until exploration and development
activities are undertaken.

Therefore, increased access to these offshore regions is essential.

• This new access can also benefit the federal treasury and U.S. taxpayers. As a recent example, in 2008 the federal
government collected nearly $18 billion dollars from OCS leasing and production activity.
• As of October 1, 2008, the presidential and congressional moratoria were removed from a large portion of the OCS.
Unfortunately, a recent Department of Interior (DOI) announcement appears to indicate that development of
potentially significant resources in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean will be prevented for
at least the next 7 years.
• In addition, the administration recently formed the National Ocean Council, a group whose actions could seriously
impact the energy sector by excluding or restricting offshore development through implementation of priority
objectives such as coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP), an ocean zoning tool based on the notion of an inherent
conflict and incompatibility among ocean uses.

API Position
• The comprehensive five-year leasing process mandated in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) should be
continued. The OCSLA process provides an effective, efficient mechanism for achieving the compatible national
interest objectives of identifying and developing OCS oil and natural gas resources in a timely manner, while
simultaneously protecting valuable coastal and marine environments.
• DOI should expedite development of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the remaining Western
Planning Area and Central Planning Area lease sales in the 2007-2012 OCS Program and hold all Gulf lease sales
scheduled in the 2007-2012 OCS Program. All available areas of the OCS should be open to leasing and development
of oil and natural gas.
• Congress should repeal eastern and central Gulf of Mexico moratoria imposed under the Gulf of Mexico Energy
Security Act of 2006 and authorize the issuance of leases in the eastern and entire central Gulf of Mexico beginning as
soon as practicable.

January 2011