Feb 24, 2022   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Consumer Group Launches “Open the Gulf” Campaign to Fight High Energy Prices, Inflation

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), the leading energy and environmental advocate for families and businesses, on Thursday launched the “Open the Gulf” campaign to help counter surging prices at the pump and rampant inflation by focusing attention on the current ban on new federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico and other policies that restrict access to U.S. energy.

“With American families struggling with the highest prices at the pump in seven years, inflation at a 40-year high and conflict in Ukraine sending oil prices over $100 a barrel, the solution for a cleaner environment and lower energy prices is in America’s possession,” CEA President David Holt said.

“The social cost of doing nothing about America’s energy crisis will be inflicting more economic harm on American families, parents and small businesses, especially those who can least afford to spend another cent amid higher prices for everything,” Holt said.

“President Biden is clearly not using ‘every tool in the toolbox’ to lower prices, which he could do today by opening the Gulf instead of blaming Russia. Americans should not be asked to sacrifice over the Ukraine conflict when we have a domestic energy ban of our own making, and lifting it would mean lower prices for us and less money for Putin.”

“Development opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico are tangled up in red tape and intentional delays by the Administration, while the legally required federal offshore leasing plan for the next five years is nowhere near started.”

“The Biden Administration’s new freeze on all oil and gas leasing because of a court decision that essentially upholds all current standards is proof we are not using every tool we have. The greatest tool in America’s energy toolbox is maximizing our status as the world’s leading environmentally responsible oil and gas producer to ease the pain.”

“The pervasive sense that the Gulf is closed to new leases – whether by bureaucratic slowdowns or political maneuvers – is hurting America’s energy security, reliability of supply and environment by ensuring that global energy demand is met by oil and natural gas from more carbon-intensive producing nations.”

“Our net-zero future will require solutions that use oil and gas, and the Gulf is the least carbon-intensive offshore source in the world. We must embrace it and our stringent environmental and safety protocols to maintain our world-leading emissions reductions.”

The campaign aims to mobilize CEA’s diverse membership representing every aspect of the U.S. economy to educate the public, elected leaders and stakeholders on the value the Gulf provides. The Gulf is responsible for 15% of U.S. crude and 5% of natural gas production; supports nearly 350,000 jobs; generates over $28 billion of GDP and $5 billion in government revenue.

Holt continued, “We must open the Gulf to new leases for wind, oil and gas to give Americans relief from high prices, to ensure we maintain our environmental progress with all forms of energy and secure our future energy supply. We should not ever have to rely on OPEC+ nations.”

“It’s time to throw out the fiction that we can get rid of oil and gas today. It’s long past time to stop ceding our national advantages to foreign adversaries – and then blaming them for high prices – while saddling families, parents, farmers and small businesses with costly, inflation-fueling policies. It’s time to open the Gulf.”

About Consumer Energy Alliance

Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) is the leading voice for sensible energy and environmental policies for consumers, bringing together families, farmers, small businesses, distributors, producers, and manufacturers to support America’s environmentally sustainable energy future. With more than 550,000 members nationwide, we are committed to leading the nation’s dialogue around energy, its critical role in the economy, and how it supports the vital supply chains for the families and businesses that depend on them. CEA works daily to encourage communities across the nation to seek sensible, realistic, and environmentally responsible solutions to meet our nation’s energy needs.