A Duke University professor has been tapped by the White House to lead the Energy Information Administration, the agency that tracks energy statistics in Washington.

President Barack Obama today nominated Richard G. Newell, an expert in environmental economics, for the job as administrator of the agency, Barb Barrett reports.

On the surface it might seem as though Newell would be taking on a pretty wonky position. The agency keeps track of data and makes forecasts on oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear energy and renewable energies.

But the Energy Information Administration's work carries significant weight in energy policy discussions. Its research likely will have some impact, for example, in whether North Carolina's coastal waters could sprout either oil wells or wind turbines.

During last year’s debate on offshore drilling and high gas prices, experts routinely cited an EIA report that said new drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf would have little impact on oil prices before 2030.

Newell is the Gendell Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. His research has focused on energy and the environment, including the economics of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Newell’s nomination would have to be approved by a Senate vote.

How much oil is off North Carolina's coast?

No one knows for sure, but the Minerals Management Service recently estimated based on exploration done in the 1970s and 1980s that between one half and 3.5 billion barrels of oil lie off the coast of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia.

Not all of that oil would be available under the most likely scenarios, since the states or the federal government could limit offshore drilling within sight of the shoreline. Between one-tenth and seven-tenths of a billion barrels of oil is within 50 miles of shore.

How long would that oil last?

According to the Energy Information Administration, U.S. consumers used about 5.5 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products in 2007. (See "Refinery and Blender Net Inputs" on this chart. To be exact, subtract "Exports" one column over, though it doesn't make much difference.)

In other words, the oil offshore from North Carolina and its neighboring Atlantic Coast states amounts to between 26 and 231 days' worth of U.S. oil consumption.

Of course, it would mean a huge increase in U.S. drilling.

According to the same chart (see "Field Production"), U.S. production of crude oil in 2007 was 1.8 billion barrels, so the South Atlantic oil amounts to between 79 days and almost two years' worth of current domestic oil production.

Americans for Prosperity, a limited-government advocacy group, is airing a radio ad praising U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's record on energy.

What it says: The ad begins with sounds of traffic. Two narrators, male and female, discuss high gas prices: "You've seen the bad news. We're pushing $4 a gallon and these skyrocketing prices are hammering North Carolina families. It's time for bold action, yet Congress hasn't lifted a finger." Light guitar music then plays. "But North Carolina is lucky. We have a senator who's leading the fight to lower energy prices, Elizabeth Dole. Senator Dole has a real plan to lower gas prices. It's called the Gas Price Reduction Act. The United States is home to a vast supply of oil, estimated at over 2 trillion barrels. The Dole plan lifts the ban on offshore exploration and oil shale development and continues to promote conservation. Senator Dole understands increasing production here at home means jobs for hard-working North Carolinians. Senator Dole has shown real leadership on the energy issue at a time when North Carolina families need it most. Call Senator Elizabeth Dole today at 919-856-4630 and tell her thanks for all she's doing to lower gas prices. Paid for by Americans for Prosperity, which is responsible for the content of this advertising and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. On the Web at AmericansforProsperity.com."

The background: In late June, a group of Republican senators introduced a bill called the Gas Price Reduction Act.

The legislation, which mirrors several aspects of Republican presidential candidate John McCain's energy plan, would lift a Congressional ban on offshore drilling, promote oil shale drilling in three Western states, strengthen regulation of oil futures trading and make loans and grants to battery makers.

In a statement announcing her cosponsorship of the bill, Dole stressed that it would leave the decision on offshore drilling up to the state.

In a 2005 report, the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit think tank, estimated that a giant untapped oil shale deposit in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming could hold between 1.5 and 1.8 trillion barrels of oil, of which roughly 800 billion barrels could be recovered.

Neither offshore drilling or oil shale would increase the oil supply for a number of years, although supporters say that by expanding the potential supply they could affect current market prices, which are based in part on future supply.

The Energy Information Administration said in a report last year that offshore drilling would not increase the oil supply until 2017, while the RAND report projected that technical problems would prevent oil shale from producing a significant amount of oil for at least 20 years.

Offshore drilling in North Carolina could lead to jobs on oil rigs, building and maintaining pipelines and shipping, although it's not clear yet whether the oil would be processed here or elsewhere. Oil shale drilling would not directly lead to new jobs in this state.

The bill includes hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and grants to promote the development of new batteries for hybrid and plug-in vehicles.

It also directs a percentage of the federal revenue be used for land and water conservation and mitigation of affected wildlife areas.

Is it accurate? The ad is generally accurate, but it makes two claims that are misleading. The United States may have as much as 2 trillion barrels of oil, but not all of it is usable. The bill could lead to better hybrid cars, but it does not exactly promote energy conservation. Most listeners would not think the ad was referring to land and water conservation.

A radio ad praising U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole mentions the Gas Price Reduction Act.

Introduced on June 27, the bill would lift a moratorium on drilling for oil and natural gas along most of the United States coastline except the eastern Gulf of Mexico, oil shale drilling on federal lands in three Western states, better regulation on oil futures trading and loans for battery makers.

The bill includes several planks of Republican presidential nominee John McCain's energy plan, dubbed The Lexington Project, which calls for drilling offshore but not in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. 

The legislation was sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and cosponsored by 43 Republican senators, including Dole and Sen. Richard Burr.

In a press release announcing the bill, Dole noted that it would leave the decision on drilling up to the state, saying she would support it in North Carolina if it is "safe, clean and not visible from the land."

"The bill I am supporting would allow North Carolina and other coastal states to decide whether to open areas at least 50 miles off their shorelines to exploration and in turn receive a significant portion of the revenues," she said.

A 2007 report from the Energy Information Administration noted that offshore drilling would not increase supply before 2017, but drilling supporters argue that the potential increase in future supply would have an effect on the market now.

A 2007 report says offshore drilling would not reduce gas prices soon.

The report by the Energy Information Administration in the U.S. Department of Energy said that opening up oil exploration off the United States coastline would not have a "significant impact" until 2030 because of the delay in starting a project.

"Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017," the report reads.

It also estimates that there are as much as 18 billion barrels of crude oil and 77 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the coast of the Lower 48 states that could be tapped if the moratorium on offshore drilling were lifted.

Still, it says that even those amounts may not greatly affect the price at the pump.

"Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant," it reads.

Hat Tip: Associated Press