InterviewMore oil will not solve US energy woes

18 June 2008 20:30  [Source: ICIS news]

By Al Greenwood

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--The US would need to promote conservation and alternative energy - even if the nation removes all bans on drilling and exploration, a policy advisor to an oil trade group said on Wednesday.

The US simply does not have enough oil reserves to meet demand and to replace aging fields, said Andy Radford, a policy advisor with the American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade group.

For years, the US oil industry has favoured lifting the ban that prohibits oil drilling in much of the nation's outer continental shelf (OCS), Radford said. 

This week, President George Bush and presidential candidate John McCain have called for lifting the federal ban on OCS drilling.

If the bans are lifted, the offshore reserves would take about 5-10 years to develop, Radford said. The reserves are in virgin fields, so it would not be technologically challenging to reach them.

"Industry has been in favour for this for years," Radford said.

The calls from Bush and McCain have started "a good, healthy debate on energy", he said. "It starts the debate."

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Author: Al Greenwood
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