Regulators 'Starving' Energy: Industry Advocate

Former Shell company executive John Hofmeister told CNBC Monday that the Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium is an example of the “starvation” imposed on the oil, gas, and mining industries by the Obama administration.

“The biggest hole is the regulatory environment that this administration is putting on the hydrocarbon industry,” said Hofmeister, who was speaking from a Kentucky coal-mining region. He is the founder and CEO of a group called Citizens for Affordable Energy.

The moratorium was issued after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which began April 20.

“You can’t drill in the Gulf of Mexico; you can’t get a mining permit in Kentucky and West Virginia for coal mining.”

He added: “It’s as if we don’t need hydrocarbons, which we do, so we are really gearing up for a high-priced environment. Wind and solar are helpful, but they’re not going to replace hydrocarbons.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Hofmeister was a paid consultant for BP during the oil spill crisis. Hofmeister says BP has not engaged him in any way and that he has no relationship, employment, consulting or advisory with any energy-producing company for which he receives any remuneration in any form, whether to him personally, his not-for-profit foundation, or his company.