New York (Platts)--23May2007

US oil and natural gas groups are urging the chairman of the US House
Resources Committee to reconsider portions of a bill that would rescind
certain elements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, saying that the changes
would "make the nation less secure by actually discouraging new energy
supply."

     In their letter to Representative Nick Rahall released Wednesday, the
heads of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Interstate
Natural Gas Association of America and the Natural Gas Supply Association said
they oppose H.R. 2337, saying enactment of the measure would mark "a step
backward for American natural gas supply development at just the time when the
country needs new natural gas resources the most."

      The bill -- known as the Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act of
2007 -- "would repeal or eviscerate a number of key measures that were enacted
in 2005 in order to facilitate new natural gas supply and infrastructure
development," the groups told the West Virginia Democrat. Other portions of
the bill "would impose burdensome requirements, redundant surface owner
provisions, and a complex water plan that would be extremely difficult to
implement."

      Ultimately, "we have no doubt that the provisions [in the bill] would
move significant and much-needed natural gas supplies out of reach, while
making it more difficult to build new pipeline infrastructure," the letter
said. 

     The groups warned that, without the necessary access and investment
levels for "environmentally responsible natural gas development," the US will
find itself continuing "to export US manufacturing jobs to those countries
with more competitive natural gas costs, while also restricting our potential
to grow the overall economy and shrink America's carbon footprint."

     The letter was signed by IPAA President Barry Russell, NGSA President
Skip Horvath, and INGAA President Don Santa.

		--Melanie Tatum, melanie_tatum@platts.com