US Offshore Drilling Takes Center Stage

By Nichola Groom
Thursday, March 28, 2019

U.S. lawmakers will quiz President Donald Trump’s new pick to lead the Interior Department on Thursday, focusing on the former energy and mining lobbyist’s plans to expand fossil fuels production from the United States' public lands and waters.

The Interior Department, which oversees more than a fifth of the U.S. land surface from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico, has been central to Trump's policy of boosting domestic crude oil, natural gas and coal production.

David Bernhardt, 49, has been acting secretary at the department since December when his predecessor Ryan Zinke resigned under a cloud of ethics investigations. Like Zinke, he is widely seen as a proponent of expanding energy and mining leasing on public acreage.

The Senate’s 20-member energy and natural resources committee will hold Thursday's hearing. If approved by the panel, Bernhardt's nomination will advance to the Republican-controlled Senate where he is widely expected to pass.

Offshore drilling is likely to take center stage.

A group of 17 Democratic senators sent a letter to Bernhardt earlier this month calling on him to release the details of the Interior Department’s new five-year offshore drilling plan due in the coming weeks, which is widely expected to expand drilling into new areas of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic over the objections of coastal states.

Senators are also likely to question Bernhardt over a New York Times report this month that he helped block the release of a Fish and Wildlife Service report on the risks that pesticides pose to endangered species.

Interior denied the report had been blocked and said the timing was being “governed solely by legitimate concerns.”

Acting Secretary David Bernhardt (Photo by Tami Heilemann, Department of Interior)

A Colorado native, Bernhardt held a series of positions at the Interior Department under Republican former President George W. Bush from 2001 to early 2009.

He then became a lawyer and lobbyist at the Denver law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck where he represented Noble Energy Inc, Rosemont Copper Co, Sempra Energy, and California's Westlands Water District, among other clients.

Critics say Bernhardt's work as a lobbyist could risk conflicts of interest, unless he recuses himself from certain issues, because he worked for companies that would benefit from decisions to open more lands to development.


(Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Jonathan Oatisditing by Jonathan Oatis)

Categories: Energy Offshore Energy Drilling North America Government Regulations

Related Stories

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

Vietsovpetro Brings BK-24 Oil Platform Online Two Months Early

SBM Offshore Starts Construction of FSO for Trion Oil Field off Mexico

MDL Secures Cable Laying Job in Asia Pacific

PXGEO Nets First Seismic Survey off Malaysia

Saipem Marks First Steel Cut for Tangguh UCC Project at Karimun Yard

Valeura Energy, PTTEP Partner Up on Gulf of Thailand Blocks

Dutch Contractor Completes Malaysia’s Largest 'Rig-to-Reef' Decom Project

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com