WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The head of a major U.S. chemical lobby is urging Congress to act on one of two bills opening up oil and gas drilling off the coast.
Jack Gerard, president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based American Chemistry Council, said Tuesday a lack of domestic supply of natural gas is hurting businesses that utilize it.
He urged Congress to pass either the House or Senate version of a bill authorizing some form of drilling off the U.S. coast.
The House bill opens up much of the outer continental shelf, while allowing states to decide whether to permit drilling up to 100 miles of their coastline.
The Senate version focuses solely on a large patch in the Gulf of Mexico.
"In a perfect world, we'd prefer more over less," said Gerard, whose organization lobbies on behalf of businesses that utilize natural gas as a feedstock to manufacture goods like plastics, polyester and health care products.
"We need to have something," he said, and though he'd prefer the House bill, both are "better than nothing."
Critics of the bills worry about environmental issues from not only drilling but also the use of the oil and gas once it's pumped. They also say it increases dependency on fossil fuels.
Natural gas, aside from the chemistry aspect, is used for heating fuels. U.S. natural gas prices are the highest in the world and are expected to rise with demand as the winter months approach.
