Gulf Energy Information

GEST was created in June 2010 in response to the Obama Administration's announced six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. We hosted rallies, organized letter-writing campaigns, and made trips to Washington to push for a swift end to the moratorium to save American jobs. Since the moratorium was lifted in October 2010, GEST has effectively served a unique role as facilitator between operators, state government, and the federal government to resolve permitting delays and get Americans back to work in the Gulf. Since June 2010, GEST has had over 30 meetings with the Department of Interior's Secretary Salazar, former Bureau of Ocean Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael Bromwich, and the current BSEE Director James Watson and BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau in order to work through the permitting hurdles. GEST has hosted several strategic planning meetings and workshops with industry to develop policy initiatives and best management practices to meet new federal requirements. With access to the highest level of decision-makers at BSEE and BOEM, we continue to work to clarify new exploration and drilling plan and permit requirements, monitor progress of the federal permitting process, and advocate for robust economic activity and energy production in the Gulf Region.