We’re about to get a major energy boost in the United States, despite the best efforts of Democrats to stop it. An oil and natural gas operation in the Gulf of America will be receiving a production upgrade, thanks to a Department of Energy loan, closed on Tuesday. The Department of Energy has announced the $480 million loan for Arena Energy’s Project Elkhorn, meant to upgrade and expand oil and gas production in the gulf. The upgrades are expected to add 125 million barrels of oil and 250 billion cubic feet of natural gas recovered over the course of the project.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) today announced the financial close of a $480 million loan for Arena Energy’s Project Elkhorn to increase oil and natural gas production across the Gulf of America shelf. The project will modernize 22 offshore platforms off the coast of Louisiana and, at peak production, is expected to add up to 38,600 barrels of oil per day and up to 77 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to U.S. energy production.
Today’s announcement is made possible by President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cut and marks the Energy Department’s first closed loan supporting domestic oil and natural gas production, underscoring DOE’s commitment to advancing American energy dominance and delivering affordable, reliable, and secure energy for American families and businesses.
“The United States is the world’s largest producer and exporter of oil and natural gas, and thanks to President Trump, American energy production will continue to grow,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Project Elkhorn will increase oil production by up to 38,600 barrels per day and create thousands of jobs. By providing financing for projects like Project Elkhorn, the Energy Department is expanding domestic production and strengthening our energy security to power American prosperity for decades to come.”
Arena’s Project Elkhorn is, at present, producing around 30,000 barrels per day. These upgrades could double that and then some. These upgrades won’t start producing at the increased levels immediately, of course; these things take time. But the recoverable reserves in the Gulf of America are significant, with the Department of the Interior estimating recoverable reserves of 5.77 billion barrels of oil and 7.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Add that to Alaska’s North Slope reserves, along with the still-massive Permian Basin deposits, and smaller reserves elsewhere, and it paints an undeniable picture of the United States’ place as an energy powerhouse — if only we stick to the “Drill, Baby, Drill” policy.
We take our good news where we find it, and this is good news. Energy is at the heart of everything we do in our modern economy, and while oil and natural gas are global commodities with global prices, any increase in supply should have the effect of lowering prices. And, of course, domestic supplies are always more secure than foreign reserves.
As of this writing, the United States crude commodity price (USOIL) was at 87.65, while UK Brent (UKOIL) was at 93.43.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
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