By Philip Bunnell
The heads of the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) said Monday that opening up the Gulf of Mexico as it was before the Deepwater Horizon spill can create as many as 190,000 jobs by 2013.
“These are shovel-ready opportunities,” said API President and CEO Jack Gerard. “All we need is the political will to allow us to go back out and develop this much needed resource.”
NOIA President Randall Luthi cautioned that the industry still “needs some assurance,” and that “when given the opportunities, the industry will spend its money wisely,” highlighting the need for more permits.