What makes the Obama administration's foot dragging on offshore drilling so dispiriting is that the President is throwing away a golden opportunity over the next three
decades to create millions of new jobs and generate more than $270
billion in annual economic growth from new oil and gas development,
including $54 billion annually in federal tax receipts that could help
lower the federal deficit and the national debt. These extraordinary benefits of job creation and economic growth -- all without requiring any federal spending -- are, sadly, not on President Obama's agenda, notwithstanding all the phony rhetoric to the contrary.
See the table below for the direct economic benefits of offshore drilling in your state.
| STATE | JOBS CREATED* | INITIAL NEW REVENUE** | LONG-TERM NEW REVENUE*** |
| Alabama | 770 | $1,724,602 | $16,680,387 |
| Alaska | 167,338 | $292,350,437 | $4,351,540,140 |
| California | 293,185 | $1,124,647,452 | $7,492,016,775 |
| Connecticut |
7,970 | $21,277,637 | $208,798,395 |
| Delaware | 2,357 | $4,917,624 | $47,396,270 |
| Florida | 225,093 | $242,593,625 | $2,669,642,414 |
| Georgia | 3,678 | $6,695,593 | $65,711,876 |
| Illinois |
1,053 | $239,358,200 | $34,769,027 |
| Louisiana |
11,054 | $800,640,249 | $260,471,830 |
| Maine | 24,207 | $66,933,111 | $656,817,596 |
| Maryland | 7,236 | $9,715,833 | $93,641,613 |
| Massachusetts | 12,715 | $38,754,772 | $380,302,298 |
| Mississippi | 631 | $1,757,434 | $16,997,939 |
| New Hampshire |
1,380 | $2,458,707 | $24,127,406 |
| New Jersey |
12,204 | $217,425,477 | $353,004,224 |
| New York |
6,776 | $33,179,832 | $325,595,168 |
| North Carolina |
30,979 | $71,769,390 | $691,716,439 |
| Oregon | 16,130 | $15,011,301 | $167,655,627 |
| Pennsylvania |
908 | $9,081,256 | $89,114,774 |
| Rhode Island |
4,247 | $14,606,903 | $143,355,048 |
| South Carolina |
12,360 | $193,058,825 | $28,043,608 |
| Texas | 7,140 | $1,205,889,874 | $175,166,833 |
| Virginia | 15,244 | $27,987,252 | $269,742,323 |
| Washington | 5,778 | $153,837,786 | $118,922,838 |
| TOTAL | 870,433 | $4,795,673,172 | $18,681,230,848 |
*Per year over a thirty year period **Per year, from state and local taxes ***Per year over a thirty year period, from state and local taxes
†Assumes average projected price for oil through 2030 according to the EIA's 2009 Energy Outlook, found here.
SOURCE: American Energy Alliance, "The Economic Contribution of Increased Offshore Oil Exploration and Production to Regional and National Economies," February 2009.
Download a PDF of this table here.
