March 09, 2023

The GEA Applauds the House Natural Resources Committee for Bringing Forward Much-Needed Permitting Reforms and Mandated Offshore Lease Sales in the TAPP Act

(Houston, Texas) – Gulf Energy Alliance Executive Director Kevin Bruce issued the following statement regarding the Transparency, Accountability, Permitting and Production of American Resources Act (TAPP Act): 

“The Gulf Energy Alliance (GEA) applauds the leadership of House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Chairman Pete Stauber (R-MN) and United States Representative Garrett Graves (R-LA) for bringing forward the Transparency, Accountability, Permitting and Production of American Resources Act (TAPP Act). Modernizing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is fundamental to an “all of the above” approach to energy security and energy justice, and the permitting and process reforms included in the TAPP Act will ensure that energy infrastructure projects—both for oil and natural gas and those needed to support the energy transition—will no longer by stymied by an outdated and inefficient regulatory framework. 

Importantly, the Act mandates that the Department of Interior complete the legally required 5-year plan for offshore oil and natural gas development to ensure that at least two area wide offshore lease sales are held every year.  The offshore industry—and the production that it supplies to the American people—depends on predictable and regular lease sales.  The Act ensures that predictability and regular lease sales will help spur additional investments and production of the cleanest barrels on the planet from the Gulf of Mexico.”   

GEA is a coalition of leading independent offshore oil and natural gas producers and allied organizations supporting policies and regulations that encourage sustainable investment, innovation, and job creation in the GOM.