API welcomed the passage today of an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico to allow joint energy development projects along our shared maritime border as a part of the final approval of Congress’ budget deal.
“The energy production made possible by this agreement will put Americans to work and raise more revenue for the government,” said API Director of Upstream and Industry Operations Erik Milito. “American companies will now have the certainty they need to invest confidently along our maritime border with Mexico.”
The Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreement between the U.S. and Mexico establishes a cooperative process for managing oil and gas reservoirs along the boundary region in the Gulf of Mexico. It provides legal certainty to American companies, which will encourage them to invest in new energy development, creating jobs and spurring economic growth. Approval of the agreement is part of the bipartisan budget bill approved today by the Senate and last week by the House of Representatives.
“Offshore oil and natural gas development in the U.S. today is largely limited to the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico,” Milito said. “Opening up new areas in the Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific, and Eastern Gulf of Mexico could produce even more energy, job creation and money for the government.”
Offshore energy development in the Atlantic could create 280,000 new American jobs and generate $51 billion in new revenue for the government, according to a recent study by Quest Offshore Resources. Eighty-seven percent of federal waters are currently off-limits to oil and natural gas exploration and development.
API is a national trade association that represents all segments of America’s technology-driven oil and natural gas industry. Its more than 550 members – including large integrated companies, exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms – provide most of the nation’s energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of nearly 20 million Americans. The industry also supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $85 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.
