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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (not seen) at the White House in Washington D.C. air max thea womens sale , the United States, on Jan. 10, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington could "conceivably" re-enter into the global Paris climate agreement, from which he announced the withdrawal last year. (XinhuaTing Shen)
By Bruce Westbrook

HOUSTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- President Donald Trump's move forthe largest expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S.continental waters in decades is met with resistance by coastalstates officials and a mix of skepticism and hope by energyindustry analysts.

The proposal, announced earlier this month air max thea uk sale , would open nearlyall U.S. coastal waters from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans toenergy development. For several decades, such waters have hadfederal protections due to environmental concerns.

The Trump administration asserted that such renewed offshoredrilling will help achieve "energy independence."

But some said that's unlikely even if renewed offshore drillingtranspires, given the facts that oil is less than 70 U.S. dollarsper barrel and shale oil reserves are abundant.

KEY TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE?

Trump's offshore drilling plan would open up 90 percent of U.S.offshore reserves to development by private companies, with 47drilling leases proposed. Among them, 19 sales would be off theAlaska coast, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico nike air zoom 90 it white , nine in the Atlantic andseven in the Pacific, all but one of them off California'scoast.

Sean Hennigan, managing director of Houston-based HerculesOffshore West Africa, which provides drilling services to oil andgas producers, saw the proposal as a positive step for energyindependence, "which is a long-term game."

Since the lead time for offshore drilling "is significant air max plus tn ultra uk , therewill be no immediate impact" from Trump's proposal, he said. "Butwe're going to need oil for multi-generations to come, and it'sbetter to get that domestically than internationally from an energyindependence standpoint."

He added that "people have more incentive to produce oil and gasfrom shale formations than offshore drilling. Shale oil and gas isabundant and generally less expensive to produce, and it's quickerto get your payback, while an offshore well may take a decade orlonger to produce."

That's why he considered the Trump proposal's impact onAmerica's energy independence to be "more of a medium-term" thing.Trump's opening up coastal waterways might take 10 to 20 years tomake an impact on the oil and gas industry.

But at the same time, Hennigan said though the industry can meetdemands now via shale production cheap air max tn uk , "if there was a drop inproduction in the Middle East or South America, there would besorrow in the future if you don't do it now (launch domesticoffshore drilling). You won't know you need it till you need it,and you wouldn't be able to respond quickly enough then."

That's why he saw "increasing our access to domestic resources"via renewed offshore drilling as a "safety net if something goeswrong internationally."

DOMASTICALLY POLITICAL ISSUE?

Dubbed the Draft Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and GasLeasing Program, the offshore drilling plan is not final.

Jon Taylor, professor of political science and director forMaster of Public Policy and Administration Program at theUniversity of St. Thomas in Houston, America's energy capital nike air max 97 womens rose gold , sawthe proposal as more a matter of domestic politics than energyindependence.

He said there is "no guarantee that any actual offshore drillingwill take place" during the proposal's five-year period of2019-2024. "I think this will have less of an impact than Trumpthinks."

With shale reserves available and oil prices low, "oil companiesare going to be reticent to sink massive investments into offshoredrilling," he said. And even if there is strong interest, "theimpact of expanding domestic offshore drilling and oil productionwould likely be several years from now rather than immediate."

Trump's government also claimed that allowing offshore drillingwould provide billions of dollars to fund conservation ofcoastlines, public lands and parks -- the same areas whichenvironmentalists say would be most vulnerable to an oil spillaccident when offshore drilling goes badly.

While energy industry groups have embraced the proposal,Democratic governors of Virginia mens nike air max 97 uk , North Carolina, Delaware, NewYork, California, Oregon and Washington oppose offshore drilling inwaters along their coasts, as do Republican governors of Maryland air max 97 metallic gold for sale ,New Jersey and Florida.

Several of those states benefit from multi-billion-dollar beachtourism industries along what are now environmentally protectedwaters.

In addition, a coalition of over 60 environmental groups isagainst the proposal, which it claims would cause severe harm topublic health, the environment and marine life.

In a statement signed by leaders of the Natural ResourcesDefense Council, the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Votersand other environmental groups air max 97 undefeated uk , the coalition railed against U.S.coastal waters being "sold off to multinational oil companies."

The coalition called Trump's offshore drilling proposal a"shameful giveaway" to the gas and oil industries.

Trump's offshore drilling plan isn't his only recent move towarda more aggressive energy posture. The administration also recentlyvowed to rewrite or eliminate many restrictions on offshore oil andgas drilling which had been instituted after a far worse oil spill:the notorious Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig explosion, fireand spill which occurred in 2010.

That disaster off the coast of Louisiana, or 400 km southeast ofHouston, killed 11 oil rig workers and spilled 215 million gallonsof crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, fouling beaches all the wayto Florida. It was the wo

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