Potential leasing and drilling bans threaten the GOM oil and gas industry, NOIA-commissioned study finds. Potential leasing and drilling bans threaten the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) oil and natural gas industry’s contribution to U.S. energy production, employment, gross domestic product (GDP) and government revenues, according to a new National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) study. Citing calls for no offshore drilling by former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and others, NOIA contends political efforts to curb offshore production would harm the Gulf Coast and national economies. “Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas production is a powerful driver of economic, energy and national security,” NOIC President Erik G. Milito remarked in a written statement emailed to Rigzone. “Every barrel of oil produced in the Gulf is a barrel produced under one of the toughest safety and environmental regulatory regimes in the world, and is a barrel […]