Continental

Bush administration officials expressed support last Wednesday for expanded oil and natural gas leasing in the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), as well as the sharing of royalties on production from “new leases in new areas” with coastal states.

Bush administration officials expressed support Wednesday for expanded oil and natural gas leasing in the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), as well as the sharing of royalties from “new leases in new areas” with coastal states.

A House Resources Committee bill (HR 4761) that would open up more areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and natural gas drilling and would give states a greater share of the royalties from offshore production would cost the federal government $11 billion over the next decade if enacted, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a new report.

The Florida House delegation has for the most part been solid in its opposition to any legislation that would expand oil and natural gas drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), but some Republicans are breaking away to express their support for an OCS bill that was voted out by the House Resources Committee Wednesday.

The House Resources Committee on Monday introduced a compromise bill that would open up heretofore closed portions of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and gas drilling and would give states a greater share of the royalty pie from offshore production.

The Bush administration favors opening up additional oil and natural gas resources for development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and would support an “appropriately structured revenue-sharing” plan with energy-friendly coastal states, an Interior Department told a House committee Wednesday.

Dominion Exploration & Production (E&P) on Friday announced a natural gas discovery on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf at the West Cameron 130 field about 250 miles southwest of New Orleans. The field is located in 40 feet of water.

The House late Thursday inflicted a blow on the energy industry by rejecting by a narrow margin efforts to open up much of the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to natural gas exploration and production. Some industry advocates were seeing the gain in support as evidenced by the close vote as progress towards an eventual win.

Apache Corp. has finalized a deal to acquire BP’s remaining producing properties on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) of the Gulf of Mexico for $1.3 billion in cash.