[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7512-7513]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   OFFSHORE PRODUCTION AND SAFETY ACT

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the importance of 
responsibly increasing our domestic drilling and energy production in 
order to secure America's energy future. Montana is home to the Bakken 
oil and gasfield, the largest technically recoverable onshore oilfield 
in the United States. In 2007, production from Elm Coulee field in 
Richland County averaged 53,000 barrels per day--more than the entire 
State of Montana a few years earlier. That number is expected to rise 
significantly as new pathways to market are put in place. Advancements 
in oil and gas technology are also making it possible for us to extract 
resources that just 5 years ago no one thought was possible.
  I will continue to push responsible development of the Bakken Field. 
Oil and gas development in the Bakken region has applied new technology 
originally designed to enhance natural gas development and turned a 
small field into the largest onshore field in the United States. Our 
job in the Senate should be to encourage these kinds of innovations. 
Our job in the Senate should be to make sure that in places like the 
Bakken, where it makes all the sense in the world to develop, 
government agencies approve and permit exploration and development in a 
timely fashion. The Bakken is a strong example of where Montana is 
contributing to increasing American-made energy.
  The Outer Continental Shelf is another good example. We can and 
should encourage investment in this area so that we increase production 
to meet our needs as the consumer of 25 percent of the world's produced 
oil. We must also continue to explore for new resources--and prove 
those--since as of now we only have 3 percent of the world's reserves.
  Unfortunately, there are a number of proposals supported by my 
colleagues across the aisle who do not responsibly balance the U.S. 
energy needs with our responsibility to protect our coastal communities 
and other economic livelihoods. Specifically, S. 953 does the exact 
opposite of what we need to safely and responsibly increase American 
production.
  The systemic lack of oversight in the Minerals Management Service was 
a critical component of last year's Deepwater Horizon explosion and 3-
month oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The failure of BP, 
Halliburton and others to follow safety requirements, and the failure 
of the Federal Government to enforce these requirements, has cost our 
country tens of millions of dollars. These irresponsible oversights 
caused significant economic and environmental harm to an entire region.
  In response to this disaster, the National Commission on the BP 
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling stated as their first 
finding that ``the explosive loss of the Macondo well could have been 
prevented.'' The report key findings also state, ``Fundamental reform 
will be needed in both the structure of those in charge of the 
regulator oversight and their internal decision making process to 
ensure their political autonomy, technical expertise, and the full 
consideration of environmental protection concerns.''
  S. 953 does the exact opposite of what the offshore drilling 
commission recommended by encouraging lax oversight by setting an 
arbitrary timeline of 60 days, allowing insufficient time for in-depth 
analysis. Let's be honest: the practical effect of that policy would be 
for certain administrations to approve permits that they should not 
approve while other administrations reject permits that could 
ultimately have been approved. This kind of rush to judgment will only 
inject even more politics into our energy debates. As the Senate has 
shown time and again, that is the last thing we need.
  No, it is time for a little less politicking and a little more common

[[Page 7513]]

sense in our energy policy. Yet this bill also forces the Department of 
Interior to reissue leases without any environmental review--the 
opposite of the full environmental consideration the BP oilspill 
commission suggested. When a group of folks get together and tell you 
how to prevent another Gulf of Mexico disaster, the commonsense thing 
to do is listen to them.
  I believe there are responsible measures we can take and should take 
to increase domestic protection, which makes us more energy secure and 
helps to insulate us from unpredictable ups and downs in world 
production. We need to dedicate resources to efficiently and 
effectively processing drilling applications. But tying the agencies' 
hands behind their backs with arbitrary deadlines or forcing them to 
hold lease sales and not process environmental reviews does not address 
the problem.
  If the Deepwater Horizon disaster proved anything, it is that cutting 
corners doesn't promote our economy or protect our environment. 
Encouraging regulators to look the other way or deny permits because 
they cannot fully consider them is antithetical to good governance. 
That is not good for American production, American jobs or American 
energy security.

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