Special thanks to Richard Charter for his expertise, dedication and information on this issue for so many years….you are a hero!\u00a0 DV<\/p>\n
Here’s his report:
\nNeither the 2007-2012 five-year plan nor the 2012-2017 plan will include any oil and gas lease sales off the West Coast.
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\nCurrent Five-Year Plan (2007-2012):
\nThe Gulf of Mexico: Four proposed lease sales there will continue to go forward.\u00a0 Details on one of these sales will be announced tomorrow.
\nVirginia:\u00a0 A proposed lease sale there will continue to go forward if warranted by environmental review, which will take about a year to complete.
\nChukchi and Beaufort Seas, Alaska: Leases for the drilling of five exploratory wells will continue to go forward.\u00a0 Three production leases will not go forward at this time.\u00a0 President Obama has asked the U.S. Geological Survey to undertake a special analysis of the sensitivity of drilling in the Arctic, which will inform future drilling decisions there.
\nCook Inlet, Alaska: Proposed lease sales there will continue to go forward.
\nBristol Bay, Alaska:\u00a0 Proposed lease sales there will not go forward, and President Obama will sign a formal withdrawal of any leasing authority in this area.
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\nRevised Five-Year Plan (2012-2017):
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Mid and South Atlantic: The new five-year plan includes seismic testing and environmental review of areas south of Delaware to determine if drilling is appropriate.\u00a0 If this information supports going forward with drilling, there will also be another lease sale-specific environmental review before any final decisions are made about whether or not to offer leases in this area.
\nGulf Coast of Florida: The new five-year plan includes environmental review of an area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico close to 125 miles off the Gulf Coast of Florida.\u00a0 About 2\/3 of the oil and gas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is believed to be located in this area.\u00a0 Drilling in this area could not proceed without a Congressional amendment to GOMESA.\u00a0 The Department of the Interior said that the Department of Defense was consulted in selecting this area, but didn’t say whether or not the DOD was now comfortable with the possibility of drilling occurring there.
\nChukchi and Beaufort Seas, Alaska: Additional lease sales will be proposed in these areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Special thanks to Richard Charter for his expertise, dedication and information on this issue for so many years….you are a hero!\u00a0 DV Here’s his report: Neither the 2007-2012 five-year plan nor the 2012-2017 plan will include any oil and gas lease sales off the West Coast. \u00a0 Current Five-Year Plan (2007-2012): The Gulf of Mexico: … Continue reading Richard Charter: Summary of Revised Five Year Plans<\/span>