March 3, 2015 — A coalition of U.S. governors pushing for more offshore oil and gas drilling turned heads in Maine last month when it announced that Gov. Paul LePage had become a member. But LePage’s participation doesn’t foreshadow oil rigs off the Maine coast – the latest federal research suggests that the Gulf of Maine lacks the right geology to hold commercial deposits of oil or natural gas.
The assessment by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, updated last year, trimmed the already modest estimates in the North Atlantic to levels that virtually eliminate the possibility of oil and gas drilling off New England.
In plain English, the geology doesn’t support commercial viability,” John Filostrat, a spokesman for the bureau, told the Portland Press Herald. “Based on the assessment of the data we have, there’s no resource potential in the Gulf of Maine.”
At the same time, the report greatly increased estimates for the amount of oil and gas that may be hidden under the seabed in the South Atlantic.
JOINING COALITION CREATES WAVES
The bureau’s Resource Evaluation Division identifies areas on the Outer Continental Shelf that seem most promising for oil and gas development. The work isn’t widely followed in Maine, but it’s noteworthy here now, in part because of LePage’s involvement in the coalition.
LePage is the first Northeast member of the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition, which receives support from a Houston-based alliance that represents hundreds of corporate interests, including many oil and gas companies.
LePage’s office said the governor joined because he supports natural gas development as a way to help lower energy costs for Mainers. But his action was criticized by environmental groups that want to reduce New England’s growing dependence on gas, including the Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald