US lawmakers urge reaffirmation of offshore drilling moratorium

Washington (Platts)--3May2005

A bipartisan group of 101 US Congress members have sent a letter to the House
Appropriations Committee urging it to protect the moratorium on new oil and
gas drilling in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. "With a renewed interest
in developing natural gas and oil on the OCS, we believe it is again
imperative for Congress to reaffirm its authority on this issue," they said in
the May 2 letter, asking the committee to include the moratorium language in
the Interior and Environment Appropriations legislation for fiscal 2006. 

Since 1982, bipartisan actions have affirmed protection of moratoria areas
from offshore oil and gas development. Every annual Interior Appropriations
bill since then has included the moratorium. President George W. Bush included
the moratorium in his FY06 budget request; lawmakers want it included in the
upcoming budget.

With oil and gas prices skyrocketing, industry groups such as the Independent
Petroleum Assn, American Gas Assn, National Petrochemical and Refiners
Associates and the National Ocean Industries Assn, are calling for a repeal of
the moratoria. In addition, several legislative proposals include language to
either repeal the moratoria or give states discretion in deciding whether to
follow the ban. 

For example, Sen Lamar Alexander (Republican-Tennessee) recently introduced a
bill that would allow states to selectively waive the federal moratoria on
offshore production and would give the US Interior Dept legal authority to
issue "natural gas only" leases. The Virginia legislature recently passed
legislation seeking an exemption from the moratorium to allow for natural gas
exploration and development, but the bill was vetoed by Gov Mark Warner on
procedural grounds. Most states covered by the current moratoria, except
Virginia, have given no indication that they support new offshore drilling.

This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert
http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com

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