Washington (Platts)--22May2008

US House Republicans on Thursday announced they are in the process of
introducing 15 bills to address increasing oil and gas prices, as well as
developing domestic sources of oil, gas and alternative sources of energy.

Led by the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
Joe Barton, ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Jim McCrery,
and ranking member of the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, Fred Upton,
Republicans rolled out a series of bills to counter recent efforts by
Democrats meant to legislate away high energy prices.

"We do not have to pay $4/gal for gasoline in the United States of
America," Barton said. The Republican bills together will result in gasoline
prices of around $2/gal, Barton said.

The bills will focus "on every portion of the energy sector," Barton
said. This includes: opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge for oil
and gas drilling; breaking a long-standing moratorium on oil and gas drilling
on the Outer Continental Shelf; streamlining the permitting for new
refineries; opening up oil shale in the West; offering a tax credit for
non-food-based biofuels; repealing a tariff on imported ethanol; eliminating
renewable fuel standards if they are not technically "feasible" or
commercially available; introducing a tax credit for aviation fuels from
alternative fuel sources; providing loan guarantees for up to six coal
liquifaction projects; and requiring the study of energy speculation.

The package of bills is meant to favor increased fossil fuel production
and to encourage the development of alternative sources of energy, McCrery
said.

Although the exact language of many of the bills have not yet been
released, Upton said one of them would encourage the construction of new
nuclear power plants, with all of the parts made in the US.

Another bill, to be introduced by Alaska's lone House representative, Don
Young, will open up ANWR and use the proceeds to fund development of
alternative energy, Barton said.

--Derek Sands, derek_sands@platts.com