Responding to the Trump administration’s America First Energy Executive Order that reviews locations and regulations for offshore oil and gas exploration, Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) commends the decision as a strategic step toward adding more oil produced from stable, free-market countries to global supply.

“It is important that stable oil-producing countries boost global supply, as so much crude is provided by the anti-competitive national oil companies of insecure countries,” said SAFE President and CEO Robbie Diamond. “Any delay in harnessing our offshore resources not only means delaying more stable oil on the world market, but also postpones job creation in the U.S. energy industry.”

The new order comes after the previous administration blocked offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic late last year, a move criticized by SAFE as detrimental to U.S. economic and national security.  Technological advances and existing safety requirements help ensure that U.S. drilling produces oil in a responsible manner.

“Limiting our domestic production hinders any comprehensive strategy to reduce American oil dependence, a strategy which includes modernized fuel efficiency standards and improving fuel choice in the transportation sector, and we applaud the administration’s decision to review these limits,” Diamond concluded.

About Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE)

Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) is an action-oriented, nonpartisan organization that aims to reduce America’s dependence on oil. Near-total dependence on petroleum in the transportation sector undermines the nation’s economic and national security, and constrains U.S. foreign policy. To combat these threats, SAFE advocates for expanded domestic production of U.S. oil and gas resources, continued improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency, and the advancement of alternative fuels in the transportation sector including electric vehicles and natural gas trucks. In 2006, SAFE joined with General P.X. Kelley (Ret.), 28th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President, and CEO of FedEx Corporation, to form the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a group of business and former military leaders committed to reducing the United States’ dependence on oil.

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