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www.sea-technology.com April 2015 / st 27 T he United States stands poised on the edge of a bright energy future. After decades of decreasing domestic en- ergy production and increasing reliance on foreign sources of oil and natural gas, a revolution in production has posi- tioned this nation to become a net energy exporter by 2017, according to the International Energy Agency. It seems the future is bright and promising for U.S. energy security, yet this promise is under threat from unrealistic fears and over- stated risks. Add low oil prices to that mix and it is not dif- fcult to see why 2015 will defne the offshore oil and gas in- dustry in the United States for the remainder of this decade. The Next Five-Year Offshore Leasing Program The frst reason that 2015 is so pivotal is because the major- ity of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Pro- gram for 2017 to 2022 will be crafted this year. Prepared by the Department of the Interior, the fve-year program consists of a schedule of oil and gas lease sales, indicating the size, timing and location of proposed leasing activity the secretary of the Interior determines will best meet national energy needs for the fve-year period following its approval. An area must be included in an approved fve-year program in order to be offered for leasing. The current leasing program, which expires in mid-2017, included no new access. Instead, it offered for lease the same areas that have been made available for decades in the central and western Gulf of Mexico, plus a few limited portions of the Alaska OCS. By refusing to even consider the other 87 percent of the nation's OCS, this leasing pro- gram has put the U.S. far behind many other nations that are actively pursuing offshore oil and natural gas energy de- velopmentâparticularly in the Atlantic basin and the Arctic. Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, Norway, Russia, Cuba and West African nations are examples of countries actually moving ahead with Atlantic and/or Arctic offshore explora- tion and development plans. Contrast that with the United States, where even geophysical and geological surveys, let alone exploratory drilling, have been forbidden off the At- lantic and Pacifc Coasts and in most of the Alaskan Arctic for decades. While including a disappointingly small number of lease sales, among the lowest in decades, the draft proposed 2017 to 2022 OCS oil and gas leasing program, released in Feb- ruary, does include a proposed lease sale off the mid- and south Atlantic. A study by Quest Offshore Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) shows that allowing oil and natural gas devel- opment in federal waters in the Atlantic alone could result in as many as 280,000 new jobs, $24 billion annually to the economy, $51 billion in gov- ernment revenue, and the safe production of 1.3 million bar- rels per day of oil and natural gas. Therefore, whether the f- nal 2017 to 2022 OCS Leasing Program ultimately includes an Atlantic lease sale will set the tone for years to come. Atlantic Seismic Surveys The second indicator in 2015 of where the offshore in- dustry will go in the coming years will come from seismic survey permitting off the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before any drilling for oil and natural gas can take place, it is frst critically important to determine where the hydrocar- bon reserves are located. Seismic surveys send sound waves through the water column and into the seafoor. This is simi- lar to ultrasound used in medical exploration. Based on how they are refected back to the surface, complex computer calculations make determinations of where the reserves possibly are and whether they can be reached economically and safely. For more than three decades, this simple data collection activity has been off limits in the Atlantic and much of the 2015 to Defne US Offshore Oil and Gas Activity for Remainder of Decade Offshore Leasing Program, Seismic Survey Permitting to Shape Future By Randall Luthi "The current leasing program, which expires in mid-2017, included no new access."