COLUMBIA, SC – Gresham Barrett, Republican candidate for Governor, released the following statement regarding comments House Majority Whip James Clyburn made earlier this week indicating his opposition to offshore energy production in South Carolina:
“Representative Clyburn is playing on fear to push an anti-offshore energy agenda, and that’s wrong. Our nation’s continued dependence on foreign energy sources is a far greater threat than the remote chance that an environmental accident could occur along South Carolina’s coast. We should not let a setback stand in the way of progress. We need to learn from this incident, make corrections and move forward.
“The fact is South Carolina would benefit tremendously from tapping the natural gas resources off our shore. Experts estimate that opening the doors to this new industry would create 2,250 new jobs and potentially generate $250 million annually in revenue for our state. My plan would use 70% of that revenue for infrastructure, 20% for public safety and 10% for alternative energy research.”
Mr. Barrett, please investigate those offshore rigs. The oil goes to the free market, and does not end up in our coffers unless we buy it. Hasn’t our environment suffered enough???
Hi Lynn –
One of the major differences between South Carolina and the Gulf Coast states is we don’t have a significant amount of oil off our coast. What we do have is clean, affordable natural gas. Experts estimate that our state could receive up to $250 million annually in royalties that we can use as we see fit, and that’s part of the reason I am strong proponent of offshore energy exploration and production.