March 18, 2022
Written Statement of Kevin Bruce, Executive Director Gulf Energy Alliance
(Houston, Texas)—Kevin Bruce, Executive Director for the Gulf Energy Alliance, a coalition of leading independent offshore oil and natural gas producers whose operations are primarily focused on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Vice President of Government Affairs for Arena Offshore, LLC (“Arena”), a leading independent oil and gas exploration company focused on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, today testified at a House Republican forum titled “Pain at the Pump: Biden’s War on American Energy.”
Republican members of the Natural Resources Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Select Committee on Climate convened the forum to examine the Biden Administration’s energy policies and their impact at home and abroad in the current energy crisis.
In his testimony, Bruce shared how oil and natural gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico can bolster U.S. energy independence and national security, while also providing Americans with access to reliable and affordable energy. He also discussed how current policies are impeding domestic production, which have added to the energy price crisis consumers are currently facing.
Bruce outlined specific actions the Administration could take to help increase production in the Gulf in the near term and provide important relief to Americans and our allies. These include (1) overturning the current moratorium on offshore leases, (2) releasing the new five-year leasing plan and holding additional lease sales, and (3) expediting the review process under the National Environmental Protection Act for domestically produced offshore oil. Oil and natural gas produced in the Gulf of Mexico is a lower carbon alternative to oil produced by foreign, higher emitting producers like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. Bruce encouraged legislators to meet energy demand with oil and gas that is produced under strong environmental protections, like that from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico–which is produced with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions intensity of any offshore basin in the world and outperforms the rest of the world in methane emissions.
Click here to read Bruce’s full written testimony.
