National Ocean Industries Association

10/28/2025

“We are manufacturing energy in the U.S. Gulf of America, and targeted tariff relief is necessary to keep that manufacturing going.”

The Gulf of America is key to U.S. energy dominance, but tariffs could hold it back.

In a new Washington Examiner op-ed, National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito outlines how targeted tariff adjustments can strengthen the administration’s energy goals, protect U.S. offshore investment, and keep the Gulf of America driving American jobs, production, and energy security.

Read Erik here:

The Trump administration's tariffs on various imports may be good policy, but the energy projects in the Gulf of America need a reprieve.

09/11/2025

Permitting reform isn’t just a policy debate, it’s an economic and security imperative.

In today’s The Hill, Rep. Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) and National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito explain how bipartisan reform can:

💠 Unlock billions in offshore energy investment
💠Support high-wage American jobs
💠Strengthen supply chains & national security
💠Power data centers, manufacturing, & future technologies

Read their op-ed here:

Offshore energy is essential to the US economy and national security, and in order to ensure its continued growth, bipartisan permitting reform is needed to streamline the process and provide regul…

06/27/2024

The energy production we rely on today is the result of smart policy decisions made years ago. This is not just an industry issue; it’s an American issue that lifts every citizen by securing our energy future.

As presidential candidates prepare for tonight's debate, NOIA emphasizes the vital role of domestic offshore energy production in the U.S. economy and national security. NOIA President Erik Milito calls for policies supporting oil, gas, offshore wind, and CCS, highlighting the sector's contributions...

12/20/2023

Barring an act of Congress, this is the last chance for companies until at least 2025 to secure new Gulf of Mexico acreage. With what we have seen today, companies remain motivated and committed to invest in the region. The bids placed today should be viewed as a long-term investment in U.S. energy security, national security, job growth, and energy affordability. We have the best workforce, world-class infrastructure, and prolific reserves. We produce more energy, better and with lower carbon emissions. There are tremendous incentives for companies to continue to invest in the region, but they are taking note of the needless politically driven uncertainty that has disrupted U.S. investment opportunities over the past three years.

It will likely be years before production begins from leases acquired today, and even still that production would only be from a small fraction of the lease blocks. Not all leases contain commercially viable quantities of oil and gas; in fact, most do not. The bottom line is companies need a wide net of lease blocks to maintain and increase production and this is the final chance companies have to replenish their portfolios for a while.

Explore the impact of American energy policy uncertainty as Lease Sale 261 unfolds in the Gulf of Mexico. Understand the pivotal role of offshore energy in securing the nation's economic and environmental future.

11/30/2023

Oil companies maintain that without regular leasing by the federal government, the costs and risk of drilling the depths of the Gulf will increase, potentially pushing investment to oil fields abroad.

“Conversations are already happening,” said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association. “You see the potential for a service company to ask whether it’s worth putting money into their facilities in the U.S. when there’s less lease sales and ask should we shift to South America and Asia.”

Oil companies say they might explore options outside the Gulf after the Biden administration said it would scale back leasing.

10/31/2023

The Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a congressionally-mandated five-year offshore oil lease plan last month that included just three fossil fuel lease sales through 2029. However, the IRA, Democrats' climate and tax bill passed in August 2022, prohibits the DOI from issuing an offshore wind development lease unless the agency has offered at least 60 million acres for offshore oil and gas leasing at some point in the previous 12 months.

"It's constructively a time of moratorium on the issuance of offshore wind leases in those gap years. We recognized that as soon as they came out with the leasing program," Erik Milito, the president of the National Ocean Industries Association, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "We were a bit surprised that they wouldn't do oil and gas lease sales annually because annual sales are needed if they want to have uninterrupted wind lease sales in the offshore."

The Biden administration is planning to hold the fewest-ever number of offshore fossil fuel lease sales, but the Inflation Reduction Act may cause the plan to threaten green energy.

09/22/2023

"...[Judge] Cain also said the Biden administration's actions appeared to be an attempt to "provide scientific justification to a political reassessment of offshore drilling." And he said the administration's process looked "more like a weaponization of the Endangered Species Act than the collaborative, reasoned approach prescribed by the applicable laws and regulations."

There are a number of eye-opening quotes from Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana in the preliminary injunction against the withdrawal of lease acreage as well as additional restrictions in the Final Notice of Sale for Lease Sale 261 related to the Rice's whale.

In a period when inflation is increasing expenses for Americans, particularly in terms of gasoline prices, we should instead be working with our policymakers to leverage our remarkable offshore production capabilities. America loses if we ignore the vast benefits of our offshore, which include an abundance of energy resources, high-paying job opportunities, environmentally responsible low carbon output, support for coastal resilience and restoration, and enhanced national security, among numerous other benefits.

The Biden administration was handed a major legal defeat over its efforts to restrict oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in a decision handed down Thursday night.

09/19/2023

Earlier this summer, Congressional Western Caucus Chair Rep. Dan Newhouse and National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito wrote in Newsweek about the powerful advantage the U.S. Gulf of Mexico provides our nation. As we face continued uncertainty about the future of federal oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, our policymakers should take note of the region's untapped potential, which is capable of exceeding our continuously growing energy needs while bolstering national security, igniting economic growth, and reducing global emissions.

As the global energy landscape evolves and renewable sectors gain momentum, it is crucial to acknowledge our present reality: Our energy demands cannot be met by a single solution alone. Immediate renewal of the federal offshore leasing program is imperative.

By producing energy in America, we can reduce global emissions.

07/20/2023

Senators Bill Cassidy and Ted Cruz introduced the Offshore Energy Security Act of 2023.

The bill mandates two offshore oil and gas lease sales in 2024 and two sales in 2025, provides certainty to offshore energy producers to continue investing in the U.S., ensures offshore energy development continues under U.S. environmental standards, and preserves the value of the 5-year offshore leasing program.

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico plays a vital role as a source of affordable, reliable, and environmentally responsible energy, and its status as a premier energy region is crucial for the overall well-being of our nation. Notably, a growing body of research underscores that U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production boasts significantly lower emissions compared to most other regions worldwide.

Moreover, the ongoing and unnecessary gap in the leasing program is needlessly eroding long-term certainty in the Gulf of Mexico. The uncertainty surrounding the region poses a threat to the energy, economic, and environmental benefits that the Gulf has provided to our nation for decades.

The Offshore Energy Security Act will effectively address this issue by injecting much-needed certainty and predictability into U.S. energy production.

National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) President Erik Milito issued the following statement after Senators Bill Cassidy (LA) and Ted Cruz (TX) introduced the Offshore Energy Security Act of 2023.

07/12/2023

By producing energy in America, we can reduce global emissions.

07/12/2023

"As the global energy landscape evolves and renewable sectors gain momentum, it is crucial to acknowledge our present reality: Our energy demands cannot be met by a single solution alone. Immediate renewal of the federal offshore leasing program is imperative. By deftly leveraging the advantages presented by the Gulf of Mexico and its vast energy reserves, we can meet global energy demands, spur American investments and job creation, and reduce global emissions."

As Congressional Western Caucus Chair Rep. Dan Newhouse and National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito write in Newsweek, we need the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf of Mexico is an enduring national strategic asset, providing a vast amount of low carbon energy, lifting our economy, and securing our nation. As our energy needs continue to rise, it is crucial we navigate toward energy solutions that simultaneously reduce emissions and ensure access to reliable and affordable domestic energy - this means we need the release of a new federal offshore oil and gas leasing program immediately.

By producing energy in America, we can reduce global emissions.

07/05/2023

"The Gulf of Mexico has been the driving force behind our economic growth, expanding employment opportunities, our quest for energy dominance and even our environmental progress. The significance of this region cannot be overstated.

"However, as we approach the one-year anniversary of the expiration of the previous federal leasing program, the lack of clarity regarding the future of the Gulf of Mexico is becoming increasingly unsettling..."

The REACH Group President and National Ocean Industries Association Board Member Jennifer S. Medcalf writes in The Galveston County Daily News what is at stake without a long term vision for Gulf of Mexico energy production.

Jennifer Medcalf is a member of the National Ocean Industries Association board of directors