US House in voice vote rejects bid to lift OCS gas drilling ban
Washington (Platts)--19May2005
The US House Thursday defeated by voice vote an amendment to the fiscal year 2006 Department of Interior spending bill that would have opened to natural gas exploration and production Outer Continental Shelf areas now under drilling moratoria. Despite the adverse voice vote, a roll call vote on the amendment was expected later Thursday. The amendment, which was introduced by Rep. John Peterson (Republican-Pennsylvania) and drew support from several Democratic and coastal state lawmakers, would lift for the gas industry moratoria that have been attached to appropriations bills since 1983 on drilling off California, the west coast of Florida, and other areas. Supporters argued that reversing the moratoria was necessary to protect US manufacturing jobs, which have been hurt by rising gas prices, and said advances in drilling technology have made gas development environmentally safe. Coastal state opponents, however, said lifting the moratoria would harm their tourism industries and interfere with military testing. This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com
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