Independent producers last Wednesday called on House leaders to rethink their position on provisions in soon-to-be-debated energy legislation that would impose significant restrictions on the oil and natural gas industry.

“The energy package currently being discussed in the House of Representatives includes provisions that will financially suffocate American consumers, manufacturers, agricultural and chemical interests while causing massive job loss and forcing investment capital overseas,” wrote Barry Russell, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Republican Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner of Ohio.

The Democratic bill (HR 2337), which was passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee last month, “is a step backward for American energy production,” he said. The measure will be included in a broader energy package that is expected to be debated on the House floor sometime this month (see NGI, June 18).

Some of the more troubling provisions in the bill for oil and gas call for increased audits of royalty payments by 2009, penalties for companies that fail to pay all of their royalties, repeal of the “categorical exclusion” under the National Environmental Policy Act, an extension of time for the Commerce Department to rule on industry appeals related to the Coastal Zone Management Act, limiting the royalty-in-kind program to filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the establishment of fees for the Interior Department to recover the costs of processing oil and gas permits, and the repeal of Energy Policy Act of 2005 provisions with respect to energy right-of-way corridors across federal lands.

“Yes, we need renewables, nuclear, clean-coal and conservation measures, among many others; but by 2030, oil and natural gas are projected to account for more than 60% of America’s total energy mix, while renewable energy sources, imperative as they are, will still only contribute less than 7%,” Russell said.

“As you continue to discuss energy policy, think in terms of reality not rhetoric, solutions not impediments. Encourage, not prevent, American energy supply.”

In related action, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents gas-intensive chemical companies, began a campaign last week to reach out to the Blue Dog Coalition in the House to get the leadership to remove the most contentious parts of HR 2377 — Titles I and II — all of which target the oil and gas industry. Efforts by Republicans last month to strike these titles in committee were soundly defeated. The bill also is opposed by the Bush administration.

©Copyright 2007Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.