Oil Drilling Gains Favor in US

March 15, 2011

gallup-offshore-drilling-mar-2011.JPGSix in 10 Americans favor increasing offshore drilling for oil and gas in US coastal areas, up 20% from 50% in May 2010, according to new Gallup data. In addition, 49% of Americans are in favor of opening Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil exploration, up about 14% from 43% in the previous measurement in March 2008.

This is the highest level of support Gallup has recorded for drilling in ANWR since the question was first asked in March 2002, when only 35% of respondents favored the idea. In nine years, public support for ANWR drilling has risen 40%.

Men, Republicans, Southerners Most Supportive of Drilling

gallup-offshore-drilling-demographic-mar-2011.JPGMen (66%) are 10% more likely than women (60%) to support drilling, in terms of both coastal drilling and exploration in ANWR. Support for both activities is more than twice higher among Republicans (83% and 67%, respectively) than among Democrats (40% and 31%, respectively).

Regionally, Gallup finds the highest support for coastal oil drilling in the South, at 74%, and higher support in the Midwest (65%) than in the East (49%) or West(51%). There are essentially no meaningful regional differences in support for oil exploration in the ANWR.

Drilling Support Grows with Age

Looking at support for offshore and ANWR oil drilling by age, both activities become more popular as the respondents grow older. For example, 52% of 18-to-34-year-olds support offshore drilling, and only 40% of respondents in this age bracket support ANWR drilling.
However, support for these respective activities grows 27% to 66% for offshore drilling among those 55 and older, and 32.5% to 53% for ANWR drilling. Among those 35 to 54, respective support levels (60% and 50%) are in between but lie closer to those of the older respondents.

46% Worry About Energy Availability, Cost

gallup-energy-cost-mar-2011.JPGConsistent with Americans’ heightened willingness to support drilling, the public is more concerned today than a year ago about “the availability and affordability of energy.” Forty-six percent of Americans now say they worry about this a great deal, up 21% from 38% in March 2010. Gallup historical analysis shows today’s level of concern is not extraordinary (the high in the past 10 years was 48% in 2006), but is roughly tied with other high points seen since 2001.

Pew: 8 in 10 Want Better Fuel Efficiency

When asked about alternative energy policy, 79% of US adults want requirements for better fuel efficiency, and 74% want more funding for alternative energy, according to a November 2010 Pew Research Center poll. Smaller majorities want more mass transit funding (63%) and more tax incentives for hybrid/electric vehicles (60%). Alternative energy does not necessarily mean “green” energy, as 45% want to promote more nuclear power use.

About the Data: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted March 3-6, 2011, with a random sample of 1,021 adults, aged 18 and older, living in the continental U.S., selected using random-digit-dial sampling. The two questions on oil exploration were asked of split samples of approximately 500 national adults each.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This