Introduced

Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Don Nickles (R-OK) introducedlegislation last week designed to prevent the Department of theInterior’s Minerals Management Service from altering its oil andgas royalty valuations methodology in a way that could costproducers millions more in royalty payments. The proposedlegislation, titled the “Federal Royalty Certainty Act” (SB 924),is designed to give producers what they have been seeking for sometime: certainty about what they owe the government.

A new bi-partisan bill was introduced Tuesday to address climatechange issues using “American ingenuity in the marketplace todevelop new technology that can be exported and deployed around theworld.” Chief sponsor, Chairman Frank H. Murkowski of the SenateEnergy Committee, said the Energy and Climate Policy Act of 1999would chart a different course than the Kyoto Protocol. “Our billrepresents a long-term, technology-based, alternative to Kyoto.Even if the U.S. succeeded in limiting its own emissions, “we areunlikely to compel China to submit to mandated emissions limits.But they want to buy our technology, so let’s play our stronghand.”

After months of debate and compromise between regulators,marketers and LDCs, SB 601 was introduced to the Pennsylvanialegislature earlier this week, moving residential and smallcommercial gas customers one step closer to gas supply choice. Thenext step for the bill will come on March 23, when the SenateConsumer Protection committee will hold a hearing on the bill.

In an effort to attract large businesses to their districts, twoOregon state legislators introduced a bill recently that wouldprovide $20 million in lottery funds to help build a 64-milepipeline. No engineering study for the pipeline has been conductedso far. The bill’s main supporters, state Sen. Veral Tarno(R-Coquille) and Rep. Ken Messerle (R-Coos County), said some ofthe funds also could be used to build a high-voltage power line.

A measure introduced in the New Mexico senate recently was a”good first step” towards opening up the state’s electricityindustry to competition, says the state’s largest utility, althoughit cited certain concerns.

A measure introduced in the New Mexico senate last week was a”good first step” towards opening up the state’s electricityindustry to competition, says the state’s largest utility, althoughit cited certain concerns.

Companion bills have been introduced in the Texas legislature togive small producers a break on gas and oil severance taxes inlight of foundering commodity prices. If enacted, legislation wouldtrigger a temporary suspension of severance taxes on productionfrom certain wells.

Companion bills have been introduced in the Texas legislature togive small producers a break on gas and oil severance taxes inlight of foundering commodity prices. If enacted, legislation wouldtrigger a temporary suspension of severance taxes on productionfrom certain wells. Relief would be triggered if the three-monthaverage price for gas hits $1.89/Mcf (NYMEX) or $15/barrel (NYMEX)for oil.. When the price trigger is reached, the severance taxwould be suspended until the three-month average rises above thetrigger price. Severance tax relief would apply to oil productionfrom leases with wells averaging 15 barrels/d or less and to gasproduction from leases with wells averaging 90 Mcf/d or less. Ifpassed by the legislature, the measure would take effectimmediately and last until Aug. 31 or until $45 million in taxrelief has been granted, whichever comes first.

Legislation has been introduced in the Virginia General Assemblythat would establish a framework for gas restructuring in thestate, authorizing, but not mandating, utilities to implementstatewide customer choice programs.