Coastline

The announced resignation of Interior Secretary Gale Norton has given opponents of drilling off Florida’s coastline added impetus to stop the Bush administration’s proposal to open up more of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas leasing, said offshore drilling foe Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) on Monday.

Key Democrats in the California congressional delegation have introduced legislation in the House and Senate to permanently ban oil and natural gas leasing off the state’s coastline.

After causing quite a stir in 2005 with his unsuccessful attempt to open up the Virginia coastline to natural gas drilling, state Sen. Frank Wagner (R-VA) introduced energy legislation in the opening days of the General Assembly last week that is more comprehensive in scope than his energy measure that was debated by state lawmakers last year.

After causing quite a stir last year with his unsuccessful attempt to open up the Virginia coastline to natural gas drilling, state Sen. Frank Wagner (R-VA) is planning to introduce energy legislation Tuesday that is more comprehensive in scope than his energy measure that was debated in the General Assembly last year.

Swift Energy Co. said repairs to its Louisiana coastline facilities, damaged in Hurricane Katrina, will take three to six weeks, depending on availability of supplies, equipment, parts — and personnel and contractors. The storm also will result in Swift deferring 2.75-3.25 Bcfe of production in the third quarter.

Although Virginia Gov. Mark Warner has vetoed a bill that advocates lifting the ban on natural gas exploration and production (E&P) off the state’s coastline, the debate on the issue is far from over, industry sources say.