Business Groups Back Expanded U.S. Gulf Oil Drilling

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Citing rising fuel costs and a widening energy gap, a coalition of business leaders Monday backed a proposal to expand oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Citing rising fuel costs and a widening energy gap, a coalition of business leaders Monday backed a proposal to expand oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.


The group, led by Associated Industries of Florida, called on Congress to approve a proposal to allow for drilling within 125 miles of Florida's coast, saying it would boost Florida's economy and quench the state's energy thirst without jeopardizing its tourism industry.


"The reality is we need the energy," said Barney Bishop, executive director of AIF, which represents 10,000 companies across the state. "The energy is there and can be gotten safely. It will help national security and our economy here in Florida."


Flanked by agricultural, manufacturing and chemical industry interests including representatives of the American Plastics Council and the National Association of Manufacturers, Bishop's group is the latest to pressure Congress as it decides whether to relax a moratorium on drilling in federal waters off Florida's panhandle.


Known as Lease 181, the region has been off limits under a federal moratorium that expires in 2007. The Bush administration is considering whether to permit drilling there as part of the federal government's 2007-2012 offshore leasing program.


Once united in opposition, Florida officials now disagree over whether to allow for exploration, a rift widened following last summer's skyrocketing fuel prices brought about by hurricane damage to U.S. capacity in the Gulf.


Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he supported a compromise that would expand drilling in the region in exchange for a formal 125-mile buffer around Florida's coast.


Environmental groups counter that the environmental risks are too great for a state with a $57-billion-a-year tourism industry. Florida's Gulf beaches are magnets for tourists and wildlife that should remain protected, they say.


"Offshore drilling is an inherently dirty, extremely polluting process," said Mark Ferrulo of the Florida Public Interest Research Group. "We don't think we need to meet our state energy needs by polluting our marine and coastal environment. There are other ways to do that."


Others oppose expansion on different grounds. Earlier this month, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called drilling incompatible within a region being used for pilot training, weapons testing and other military uses.


The U.S. military operates a live-fire weapons testing area about 234 miles off the coast of Tampa, where it tests a variety of air- and ship-borne weapons.


Source: Reuters


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