Gov. Pat McCrory emphasized his support of oil and gas exploration off North Carolina’s coast during a Q&A session at the end of a Nov. 6 informational meeting with state and federal agencies in Raleigh.
The bulk of the meeting, which included presentations from organizations with direct ties to the oil and gas industry, was closed to the public and the press. A Q&A session with McCrory and N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary John Skvarla and Deputy Secretary and Energy Policy Advisor Donald van der Vaart was open to the media.
Originally, the entire meeting was closed to the media.
McCrory, who serves as chairman of the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition, said potential sources of offshore oil and natural gas could make North Carolina a leader in energy independence.
The meeting was organized by DENR to gather more information about including North Carolina in the forthcoming 2017-2022 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program, a five-year roadmap for offshore oil and gas exploration developed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. A draft 2017-2022 program is expected to be released for public review and comment early next year.
A request from 10 environmental groups to open the meeting to the public was rejected, on grounds that special interest groups or industry representatives could be perceived as inappropriate influence on a participating federal agency reviewing applications to conduct seismic testing.
The Center for Offshore Safety, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and the Consumer Energy Alliance presented at the meeting on risk prevention and response, socioeconomic impact and revenue sharing. Oil and gas industry representatives are members of all three organizations.
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