Washington-President Obama’s March 31 announcement to expand offshore drilling for oil and natural gas has garnered praise from The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), which called it a “step in the right direction” to utilize and develop the country’s natural resources to meet energy needs. “While the proposed plan does not go as far as the bipartisan action taken by Congress in 2008 which lifted the moratorium on offshore exploration, it’s an encouraging step toward expanding our domestic energy supplies and reducing our reliance on foreign sources of oil and gas,” TFI said. “Natural gas is the primary feedstock for the manufacturing of nitrogen fertilizer which serves critical agriculture needs and for this reason, we are supportive of policies that encourage the development of a reliable and affordable supply of natural gas.” The administration’s proposal, which drew criticism from environmental groups, would allow oil and gas drilling for the first time in areas off the coast of Virginia and in other parts of the mid-Atlantic region stretching from Delaware to the coastline of central Florida. The East Coast from New Jersey northward would remain closed to oil and gas development under the plan, as would the entire West Coast from the Canadian to Mexican borders. Alaska’s Bristol Bay would also be off limits, but the plan does allow exploration in eastern areas of the Gulf of New Mexico that are currently under congressional moratorium and closed to development. The administration also tentatively plans to hold a lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet by 2012. TFI noted in its statement, however, that it remains concerned “about the impact of any future policies, particularly in the climate change arena, which could overwhelm any new supplies of natural gas.” The plan also has critics who argue that it doesn’t go far enough.
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