NOIA Offshore Industry Talking Points

  • Policies of the federal government have placed much of the coastal Outer Continental Shelf off limits to oil and natural gas production.
  • Development of oil and natural gas resources, where allowed off our shores, has coexisted for decades with recreational and commercial activities while benefiting the entire nation.
  • Offshore oil and natural gas operations have a long history of environmentally sensitive and safe performance; and Offshore development of oil and natural gas has provided needed supplies of American energy, generated substantial local, state and federal revenues and created thousands of jobs and economic development.

Offshore oil and natural gas development generates tremendous national benefits.

  • U.S. offshore energy production is an essential component of the United States’ energy and economic security. The U.S. offshore supplies more than 25 percent of the country’s natural gas production and more than 30 percent of total domestic oil production.[i]
  • Since 1953, OCS development has produced more than 14 billion barrels of oil and 160 trillion cubic feet of natural gas[ii].
  • Each year, offshore energy development results in tremendous economic contributions to local, state, and federal revenue. The industry contributes between $4 and 6 billion in revenues per year to the Federal Treasury,[iii] and since 1982, $16 billion in OCS revenues have been paid into the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Additionally, the National Historic Preservation Fund receives about $150 million annually in OCS revenues and more than $3 billion has been distributed to coastal states since 1986 under the 8(g) revenue-sharing agreement, $108 million in 2000 alone.[iv]
  • In 2002 and 2003, federal offshore waters produced more than 600 million barrels of oil annually[v] and about 4.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.[vi]
  • The offshore energy industry employs approximately 120,000 people directly, and is estimated to employ an additional 120,000 indirectly.
  • The U.S. offshore industry leads the world in developing and commercializing the advanced technologies that protect sensitive environments, produce energy more efficiently, and improve the quality of life for all Americans.

The industry is committed to protecting people and the environment.

  • The U.S. offshore energy industry operates in accordance with the world’s most stringent standards for human safety and environmental protection.
  • Since 1985, more than 7 billion barrels of oil were produced in federal offshore waters with less than 0.001 percent spilled – a 99.999 percent record for clean operations.[vii]
  • Government statistics show that the injury and illness rate for offshore workers is about 70 percent lower than all of private industry.[viii]
  • Thirty percent of the 15 million fish caught by recreational fishermen annually off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana are caught near offshore platforms. In fact, offshore platforms have the highest catch rates of all recreational fishers in the United States — with conservative estimates showing annual catches of approximately 450,000 pounds of reef fish annually valued at approximately $2 million.[ix]

Technology Leads the Way Ahead

  • Total Gulf of Mexico deepwater oil production rose to more than 570 million barrels in 2001— nearly a 535 percent increase from 1995.
  • In 2002, deepwater activity contributed 959,000 barrels of oil and 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to U.S. energy supplies — approximately 61 percent of the Gulf’s total production.[x]
  • Since 2001, industry has announced 11 major discoveries in waters exceeding 7,000 feet.
  • In the shallow-water of the Continental Shelf, companies are now able to drill to depths of 20,000 to 30,000 feet to reach deep sources of natural gas.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. “Offshore Minerals Management.” < (Accessed June 2, 2004.)

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. < Accessed June 2, 2004.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. (Accessed March, 2004.)

Minerals Management Service. (2000) Mineral Revenues 2000: Report on Receipts from Federal and American Indian Leases. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. "Total OCS Gas Production."

< Accessed March 11, 2004.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. "Federal Offshore Crude and Condensate Production: 1992-2003."< Accessed March 11, 2004.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. “Oil Spill Facts 2002” < > Accessed June 2, 2004.

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. “MMS Honors Best of the Best at Annual Energy Industry Awards Ceremony” < (Accessed June 3, 2004.)

Committee on Techniques for Removing Fixed Offshore Structures, Marine Board. (1996) An Assessment of Techniques for Removing Offshore Structures.National Research Council.

Minerals Management Service. (2004) Deepwater Gulf of Mexico 2004: America’s Expanding FrontierWashington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior.

[i]U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. “Offshore Minerals Management.” (Accessed June 2, 2004.)

[ii]U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. < Accessed June 2, 2004.

[iii]U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. (Accessed March, 2004.)

[iv]Minerals Management Service. (2000) Mineral Revenues 2000: Report on Receipts from Federal and American Indian Leases. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior.

[v]U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. "Total OCS Gas Production."

< Accessed March 11, 2004.

[vi]U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. "Federal Offshore Crude and Condensate Production: 1992-2003." Accessed March 11, 2004.

[vii]U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. “Oil Spill Facts 2002” < > Accessed June 2, 2004.

[viii]U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. “MMS Honors Best of the Best at Annual Energy Industry Awards Ceremony” < (Accessed June 3, 2004.)

[ix]Committee on Techniques for Removing Fixed Offshore Structures, Marine Board. (1996) AnAssessment of Techniques for Removing Offshore Structures.National Research Council.

[x]Minerals Management Service. (2004) Deepwater Gulf of Mexico 2004: America’s Expanding FrontierWashington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior.