Offshore oil drilling ban set to expire Oct. 1

The federal prohibition on offshore oil drilling in the U.S. in most states is set to expire on Oct. 1, and U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) is strongly in favor of letting the ban lapse.

Currently, federal law allows offshore oil drilling only in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Alaska and parts of California.

A bill passed last week in the U.S. House would permit drilling anywhere in the coastal U.S. more than 100 miles offshore. Individually, states could allow drilling between 50 and 100 miles.

“As we on the Gulf Coast continue to recover from hurricanes Gustav and Ike, I believe the entire nation is once again reminded of the fact that our nation’s domestic energy production is concentrated offshore in the Gulf,” Vitter stated in a release.

“Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states don’t mind shouldering the burden of producing the energy to meet our nation’s demands, but the aftermath of these storms should serve as a strong reminder that we need to have offshore production in other areas of our country,” the senator added.

“On Oct. 1, 2008 the current prohibitions on offshore drilling and oil shale recovery will end,” he stated. “On that day, we can achieve real American energy independence without having to do anything but let these burdensome moratoriums expire.”

The bill passed in the House has been criticized for not giving royalties to states that newly permit oil drilling. The six states currently having offshore oil drilling receive royalty payments through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program.