Contact: Caren Madsen
202-208-3034
President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016) budget, announced today, includes a request of $170.9 million to fund the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) mission to safely and responsibly manage the Nation's offshore energy and mineral resources. The request would provide BOEM with resources needed to effectively manage oil and gas development, renewable energy, and mineral resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in a way that promotes efficient and environmentally responsible development.
“BOEM’s priorities fully support the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy for safely and responsibly expanding domestic energy production and advancing renewable energy for our clean energy future by using the best available science to inform our decision making,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “The President’s budget would provide us with the needed resources and personnel to expand our technical expertise to make science-informed policy decisions and effectively oversee the development of OCS resources.”
The President’s budget request focuses on program responsibilities, such as the Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Program, oil and gas exploration and development plans, offshore renewable energy and environmental analysis and studies. The request includes an increase of $1.1 million over the FY 2015 enacted level, allowing the bureau to fund important initiatives to further develop the risk management program, add personnel needed to support an increase in OCS activity and build on the bureau’s collaborative efforts in ecosystem science.
The budget includes $2.5 million in additional funding that will allow BOEM to operate a more robust risk management program. Initiated in FY 2014, the program seeks to modernize the bureau’s approach to offshore oil and gas financial assurance and risk management in order to better align with the realities of aging offshore infrastructure, and to address potential costs and liabilities associated with offshore energy development.
BOEM-regulated OCS activities have increased in recent years and this trend is expected to continue. Since 2010, BOEM has seen a 36 percent increase in active deepwater drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to a steady increase in the number of plans BOEM must review. The President’s proposal requests $1.1 million to support increasing activity on the OCS and an increased workload resulting from focusing personnel on the timely and thorough completion of reviews of exploration and development plans.
BOEM recognizes the importance of understanding ecosystem science and global change to better inform future decisions. Included in the FY 2016 request is an additional $500,000 to support the bureau’s critical role in supporting the United States during its term as Chair of the Arctic Council and to increase its expertise on ecosystem science.
The President’s $170.9 million budget request includes offsetting collections of $93.0 million from rental receipts and $3.7 million from cost recovery fees. This results in a requested increase of $1.8 million in net direct appropriations for the bureau. The President’s proposal also includes a package of legislative and administrative reforms to bolster and backstop administrative actions being taken to reform the management of Interior’s onshore and offshore oil and gas programs, with a key focus on improving returns to taxpayers from the sale of these Federal resources and on improving transparency and oversight.
Additional details on the President's FY 2016 budget request are available online at: http://www.doi.gov/budget/appropriations/2016/highlights
BOEM promotes energy independence, environmental protection and economic development through responsible, science-based management of offshore conventional and renewable energy and marine mineral resources.