Production from all OCS leases provided 550 million barrels of oil and 1.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in FY2016, accounting for 72 percent of the oil and 27 percent of the natural gas produced on federal lands and offshore areas.
Zinke said the action was in response to President Donald Trump's executive order last month, which ordered reviews of the Interior Department's five-year oil leasing plan that put the Atlantic Coast off limits to oil and gas drilling through 2022, and President Barack Obama's decision to permanently ban drilling in a 5,990-square-mile area from MA to Virginia, including off the Jersey coast.
Seismic testing would allow the oil industry to research for the first time in three decades what resources could be under the ocean floor.
The Atlantic region is not included in the current five-year OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program; however, President Trump has directed the Interior Department and BOEM to begin developing a new national program.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month aimed at expanding drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, part of his promise to unleash the nation's energy reserves in an effort to reduce imports of foreign oil. The push to unleash crude and natural gas has remained a critical component of Trump's platform, and the president has said unleashing energy reserves now off-limits will reduce foreign oil imports.
Environmental groups and many East Coast lawmakers oppose the surveys, saying loud sounds from seismic air guns could hurt marine life. Speeding up global warming is also high on the environmentalists' list of concerns.
Protesters say Republican has 'got to go'
Rogers!), MacArthur is taking some serious heat for his wheeling and dealing with the Freedom Caucus. The crowds in Willingboro were skeptical. "I crossed party lines and I voted for him".
The six companies - TGS Nopec Geophysical Company ASA, GX Technology Corp, WesternGeco Ltd, CGG Services Inc, Spectrum Geo and Petroleum Geo Services ASA - were previously denied permits to conduct seismic surveys in the Atlantic portion of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
The surveys help "a variety of federal and state partners better understand our nation's offshore areas. and evaluate resources that belong to the American people", said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
The seismic surveys will also provide information for researchers on viable offshore wind structure sites and can help pinpoint dangers lurking on the seafloor.
Data from seismic surveys also assists officials in determining fair market value of offshore resources.
The U.S. Interior Department plans to resume seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean, a step that could eventually lead to allowing oil drilling there.
The Obama administration said previous year that the provision would be challenging for other presidents to reverse.
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