Within weeks of Congress allowing longstanding offshore drilling bans to lapse, oil prices took a nose dive, which quieted the calls to “drill here, drill now.” However, before leaving office, the Bush Administration released a draft drilling plan that is being taken up by the Obama Administration.
To collect public comments on the new plan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar held a series of hearings in several sites across the country. Policy Integrity attended the Atlantic City hearing, contributing comments that argued that the plan disregarded basic economic principles and failed to take into account the potential value of waiting to drill, risking billions of dollars in “option” value. Policy Integrity also released a fact sheet on the issue.