Gov. Bob McDonnell this week said he wanted to see Virginia become the "energy capital" of the East Coast.
The governor was commenting on a ruling by the Obama administration which might lead to drillling for oil and natural gas off Virginia's coast.
While Interior Secretary Ken Salazar somewhat downplayed the prospect, saying the administration had okayed a "look/see," Republicans, whose motto is "Drill, baby, drill," are already spending the money. In McDonnell's case, he wants to spend Virginia's future oil royalities on transportation.
Before the new governor of Texas-on-the-James gets fitted for a ten-gallon hat, there are a couple of problems with his plan.
First, under current law, Virginia can't collect any royalties for oil and natural gas extracted off its coast. Congess, dominated by non-coastal states, has been very relectant to allow East Coast states the same right to collect royalties that states on the Gulf Coast and Alaska have. Virginia's congressional delegation has introduced bills to change that, but there's no gaurantee that they will pass.
So, right now, an oil well off Virginia's coast won't benefit anyone except the oil company that drilled it.
