MMS must have a leasing plan in place if Virginia seeks to end the moratorium and encourage offshore oil and gas development.
Of all the platforms that were destroyed, not all of them will be rebuilt, which means we will lose permanently a certain percentage ... we estimate maybe 4 or 5% ... of oil and gas that will not be produced.
We need to find natural gas and oil in order to bridge the gap between now and the commercial development of renewable energy sources.
With sharply higher energy prices buffeting both families and businesses, we want to be sure that we fully consider the environmentally sensitive development of the vast domestic oil and gas resources off our coasts.
The oil from the platforms might be at 95 percent of pre- storm levels within 30 days or so. That doesn't mean it's going to go anywhere. There are terminals they cannot get to. There are refineries that are not ready to take the product.