Governor John Bel Edwards asked the Biden Administration to lift the moratorium on new oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and also wants the federal government to increase the tax revenue Louisiana receives for offshore production. Edwards told the Senate Energy Committee the oil royalties are used on coastal restoration.
“We’ve identified at least 50-billion dollars worth of investments, we want to make over 50 years, this is the only guaranteed source of federal revenue that goes into that program every single year,” said Edwards.
Edwards says it’s imperative to restore Louisiana’s coast to combat the effects of climate change. He also says it’s important for the federal government to lift the moratorium on lease sales. The governor requests that the pause be lifted this summer to help an industry that employs 250,000 Louisianans.
“We want the resumption, we want it as soon as possible, so the worst impacts don’t happen and these people don’t lose their chances of supporting themselves and their families,” said Edwards.
Edwards says the United States will never get away from oil production, but investments are being made in Louisiana to produce alternative forms of energy, including wind, but the ongoing lease sale moratorium is hurting that effort.
“If you pull the rug out from the traditional oil and gas too abruptly and the pause lasts for too long, then that transition is not going to be seamless, it’s going to haphazard and we are going to hurt too many people,” said Edwards.
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