IADC welcomes OCS lease plan announcement, but calls for opening all US waters

Houston, 2 July, 2012 – The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) welcomes the announcement by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy Beaudreau that the next five-year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing program will provide for 15 lease sales.  IADC is also encouraged that another lease sale under the existing program will occur in the Western Gulf of Mexico before the end of this year.

“The remarkable recent Central Gulf sale yielding over $1 billion in bonus bids by industry speaks to the confidence industry has in US offshore resource potential,” remarked IADC President/CEO Stephen A. Colville. “IADC greatly regrets, however, that due to a history of Congressional offshore leasing moratoria, and Presidential moratoria beginning with the George H.W. Bush Administration, most of US waters are closed to exploration and development.  That is completely inconsistent with the nation’s energy needs and with the practice of virtually all other coastal nations with active offshore leasing programs.”

Mr. Colville added that IADC is nonetheless pleased to see movement on Arctic OCS development, an area holding huge oil and natural gas reserves.  But with the continued moratoria elsewhere, the US is denying itself the potential for a stronger economy, jobs growth and lessened dependence on resources from unstable or unreliable suppliers outside its borders.

“We urge the President and Congress to expand OCS access beyond Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico,” Mr. Colville added.  “The technology and investment appetite is proven.  Drilling contractors are ready and able to do the job.”

About IADC

IADC is dedicated to enhancing the interests of oil-and-gas and geothermal drilling contractors worldwide. IADC’s contract-drilling members own most of the world’s land and offshore drilling units and drill the vast majority of the wells that produce the planet’s oil and gas. IADC’s membership also includes oil-and-gas producers, and manufacturers and suppliers of oilfield equipment and services. Founded in 1940, IADC’s mission is to improve industry health, safety and environmental practices; advance drilling and completion technology; and champion responsible standards, practices, legislation and regulations that provide for safe, efficient and environmentally sound drilling operations worldwide. IADC holds Accredited Observer status at the International Maritime Organization and the International Seabed Authority, specialized agencies of the United Nations. The Association is a leader in developing standards for industry training, notably its Well Control Accreditation Program (WellCAP)® and rig-floor orientation program, RIG PASS®. IADC is headquartered in Houston and has offices in Washington D.C., the Netherlands, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as chapters in the UK, Venezuela, Brazil, Australasia, South Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and across the United States. For more information, visit the IADC website at www.iadc.org.