Math Error Hindering Approval of Oil and Gas Permits | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Brittany Raymer.

    There is a mathematical error hindering the permitting system for America's oil and gas industry, which the Biden administration apparently refusing to address. This is strangling Americas energy independence, and a reminder of the dangers of investing recklessly in green energy, a fickle resource that could fail in a cold spell.

    Just two years ago, the United States was a net exporter of oil, but all that has changed. Now the country begging dictators and tyrants, like Venezuelan "president" Nicolas Muduro, to increase oil production to keep the economy going instead of investing in American energy and industry.

    After becoming president, Joe Biden immediately began pulling back on various oil leases and the critical Keystone XL pipeline. The result has been more pain at the pump as the economy stalled, Russia invadedUkraine pushing gas prices higher, Saudi Arabia refuses to pump more oil to increase prices, and the administration began inexplicably demonizing the oil and gas industry.

    But in addition to all of this, apparently there is also a mathematical error that's preventing and delaying gas projects.

    This issue was revealed in April and has not been addressed, which is causing a system backlog and a decrease in offshore energy production, according to a report from Fox News.

    The alleged error is related to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which examines the impact of offshore oil drilling and production on the environment, namely marine animals. Evidently, its modeling overestimates the risks associated with the projects.

    "These permitting delays have a real impact on the industry's ability to safely and efficiently explore, drill and produce energy in the offshore sector," NOIA President Erik Milito told FOX Business in an interview. "It is a significant concern when it comes to not just energy production, but when it comes to ensuring that investment stays in the U.S. and that we can maintain the jobs, the high-paying jobs that go along with this activity."

    He continued, "We've heard specifically from companies that - without getting these permits process in a timely manner, they're not able to do the seismic work which is required for them to move forward with their exploration and drilling plans, which means that they're delayed in moving forward with their programs. It holds back production and investment in the U.S."

    After the issue was discovered in April, two dozen Republican Senators wrote to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo asking her to quickly address the issue. She hasn't, and as a result the American energy industry is in limbo.

    What would be interesting to know is what impact offshore wind turbines will have on the marine wildlife in North Carolina? The wind turbine farm planned off the shores of Wilmington will cover 122,405 acres or 191 square miles. In comparison, the typical oil drilling platform has about a 2,000 foot wide tower and rise at least 1,000 feet into the air. But those facilities are spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico, not concentrated in one area like they will be in the Tar Heel State, which could impact tourism, fishing, other industries and wildlife.

    But any reports are unlikely to highlight the farm's potentially detrimental impact to marine life, even though it could likely be much more devastating.

    It seems that as long as the system is utilizing green energy, the possible environmental damage, no matter how grave, is of little concern to regulators.