Hatch: Off-Shore Drilling Needed to Close Energy Gap
HATCH: OFF-SHORE DRILLING NEEDED TO CLOSE ENERGY GAP
Senator Also Highlights Progress on Energy Initiatives Passed Last Year
Washington - With Utahns paying close to $3.00 per gallon at the pump, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) today gave his support for legislation that would provide a much-needed boost to the nation's oil supply and help stabilize energy markets.
"We don't manufacture oil - we extract it from the ground, and lately our search has been coming up short," Hatch said. "To me, it's irresponsible to be so dependent on foreign oil markets when we can take advantage of new sources of oil here at home."
By a vote of 71 to 25, the Senate today passed S. 3711, which would open more than 8.3 million acres on the Outer Continental Shelf for oil and gas leasing. Energy experts estimate the region could produce 1.26 billion barrels of oil and enough natural gas to heat and cool nearly six million homes for 15 years.
"If we don't increase our domestic supply of oil and natural gas in a significant way, our nation will continue to pay a very heavy price," Hatch said. "We absolutely must increase our domestic oil and gas production if we hope to continue to prosper."
Hatch sees S. 3711 as a short-term solution to the nation's energy needs, a complement to a long-term solution he authored last year to develop the nation's vast resources of unconventional oil. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, recoverable oil shale in the western United States exceeds one trillion barrels and is the richest and most geographically concentrated oil shale and tar sands resource in the world. The Bureau of Land Management is moving quickly to implement the law, granting eight research and development leases and drafting an environmental impact statement needed to begin leasing activities on Federal lands.
The comprehensive energy bill Congress enacted last year also included two Hatch initiatives to move the nation toward alternative and renewable fuels:
The CLEAR ACT, which provides tax incentives to consumers who purchase alternative-fuel and hybrid-electric vehicles, tax incentives at the pump for the purchase of alternative transportation fuels, and tax incentives for the purchase and installation of alternative fueling equipment. Nearly 117,000 new hybrid vehicles have been purchased since January 2006.
A provision to promote geothermal energy, a domestic energy source that could provide energy to more than 22 million homes if fully developed. Experts say Utah has one of the largest underground hot water reservoirs in the nation, and Hatch's measure provides tax incentives for electricity produced from renewable energy facilities. A July 2006 Government Accountability Office study estimates that because of last year's bill, future electricity production from geothermal resources could increase by 25 to 367 percent by 2017.
http://hatch.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=1638&Month=8&Year=2006