Oil industry slams Zinke for closing Florida waters to offshore drilling

The oil industry criticized the Trump administration Wednesday for excluding waters near Florida from offshore drilling. The American Petroleum Institute (API) said the decision to remove the eastern third of the Gulf of Mexico from drilling consideration is “premature” and ignores safety advances the industry has made. “This announcement is premature,” API President Jack Gerard said in a statement following the late Tuesday decision from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “The Gulf of Mexico is the backbone of our nation’s offshore energy production and restricting access to the Eastern Gulf puts hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk across the country and along the Gulf Coast, particularly in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi,” he said. “Not only that, but securing reliable sources of energy helps fuel other industries like tourism, especially in states like Florida that relies on more than 200 million barrels of gasoline and diesel each year to fuel its economy.” Zinke’s action has also been criticized by governors and other leaders of various other coastal states...more