Democratic presidential hopeful Al Gore’s proposed long-termenergy policy has elicited a ho-hum response from independent oiland natural gas producers, who contend it “falls far short” oninitiatives needed to boost domestic energy production.

The Gore plan, which has been unveiled in stages this week, isnothing more than a “continuation of the current administration’srefusal to adopt a meaningful action plan to address ourover-reliance on foreign oil and dwindling exploratory landinventory,” said Jerry Jordan, chairman of the IndependentPetroleum Association of America (IPAA).

The “only nugget” for producers is the vice president’s proposalto extend deep-water royalty relief for marginal wells in the Gulfof Mexico, he noted. The program is scheduled to expire inNovember.

On the flip side, Jordan pointed out that Gore earlier this year”vowed to keep and toughen” moratoria limiting onshore and offshoreexploration and development. This runs counter to last December’sNational Petroleum Council study, which concluded the removal ofsuch bans was vital if producers are to meet a 30 Tcf demand marketdown the road.

Jordan also noted that Gore’s proposal overlooked several taxreforms that would encourage more domestic oil and gas production -reforms that, he said, the Clinton administration has “embraced”already.

In a speech in Philadelphia earlier this week, Gore told a crowdthat “we are blessed with abundant supplies of coal, petroleum andnatural gas; we have to use these resources wisely.” At the sametimer, producers “are [being] hemmed in by federal restrictions andpresidential fiat” that bar mineral development of many U.S. lands,Jordan said.

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