"This is a supply-and-demand problem, plain and simple," said W. Henson Moore, president and CEO of the AF&PA and a former U.S. deputy energy secretary.

Moore and Rock-Tenn CEO Jim Rubright, also chairman of the AF&PA´s CEO Natural Gas Task Force, both support legislation now in the U.S. Senate that would allow energy development in the eastern half the Gulf of Mexico.

"We´ve had four mills close their doors permanently in the last six months, citing high energy prices as one of the reasons," Moore said. "There is nothing ´natural´ about the price of natural gas today."

The legislation, known as the Domenici-Bingaman bill, would allow development in an area of the gulf known as Lease 181, the AF&PA said.