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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