Industries join forces to push for gulf drilling
A wide range of companies unite to force open more of the Gulf of Mexico to natural gas exploration.
By WES ALLISON
Published April 6, 2006
WASHINGTON - A broad spectrum of American industry, from paper to plastics to soap and steel, unveiled a campaign Wednesday to push Congress to open more of the U.S. coast to natural gas exploration, beginning with the waters of the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida.
The coalition, which calls itself the Consumer Alliance for Energy Security, represents millions of jobs. With economic ties in virtually every state, members hope to consolidate their political pull to force Congress to reconsider the two-decade-old ban on drilling off most of the U.S. coast, in hopes that boosting natural gas production will lower record prices and stabilize the market.
"We believe we're truly in an energy crisis and we can use all the energy we can get," said Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers.
"The next step for us is to . . . harness the . . . anxiety that's coming from the hinterlands so Congress will understand what that crisis is."
Key leaders include Gerard and former Michigan Gov. John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and W. Henson Moore, former deputy energy secretary and head of the American Forest and Paper Association.
They think their best chance for quick action is a bill that would open 2-million acres of Lease-Sale Area 181, about 100 miles off the Florida Panhandle, to natural gas exploration. It has passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has pledged to filibuster the bill, but he needs support of 39 other senators to succeed, and his prospects are unclear. He and other opponents say the eastern gulf doesn't have enough gas to significantly affect prices; the government estimates Area 181 contains enough natural gas to heat 15-million homes for six years.
In recent months, lobbyists and lawmakers on Capitol Hill say manufacturers, fertilizer makers and farmers, rather than the oil and gas industry, have increased the pressure to tap offshore gas and oil reserves, as high natural gas prices dig into profits and force layoffs and plant closings.
The alliance includes at least 16 national industry groups, including the Carpet and Rug Institute, the National Paint and Coatings Association, the American Iron & Steel Institute, the Aluminum Association and the National Corn Growers Association.
Some use natural gas as a key ingredient, while others use it for heat and power.
Engler said the group will take two approaches: buttonholing members of the House and Senate involved in the debate, while recruiting citizen, business and labor groups at state and local levels.
He noted that two natural gas-fired power plants are to come on line in Florida in the next couple of years. "Where are you going to get that natural gas from? And how are you going to help those consumers get that natural gas for a more affordable price? If that's not important, then the members (of Congress) ought to just say so."