Lands

In a March 2 letter to Gov. Tom Corbett, a group of 80 Pennsylvania state representatives said they would hold up royalty revenues if the state leased additional forest land for natural gas development.

Greater access to public lands for producers would create an additional 530,000 jobs, deliver $150 billion more in taxes to the federal government and boost domestic production by 4 million bbl of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) by 2025, according to a new study commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Greater access to public lands for producers would create an additional 530,000 jobs, deliver $150 billion more in taxes to the federal government and boost domestic production by four million bbl of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) by 2025, according to a new study commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Texas is suing the federal government over its deepwater drilling moratorium, alleging that under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) affected states must be consulted by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) before such a measure is taken.

Texas is suing the federal government over its deepwater drilling moratorium, alleging that under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) affected states must be consulted by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) before such a measure is taken.

By nearly a two-to-one margin California voters are opposed to more offshore oil/natural gas drilling in state lands along the 1,000-mile coast, a Field Poll showed last Friday. The results represent a big increase in the negative sentiment compared to two years ago.

An amendment by Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) seeking to strike a provision allowing federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracing) activities on federal lands fueled an extensive debate during mark-up of a broader bill by the House Natural Resources Committee.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has approved the Cape Wind project on federal submerged lands in Nantucket Sound, MA, but will require the wind farm’s developer to agree to additional binding measures to minimize the facility’s potential adverse impacts, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday.

The Obama administration’s proposed fee hikes and new fees for onshore and offshore production on federal lands in the fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget will add to the jobless rate and drain revenues from the federal coffers, both of which would further aggravate the economic climate, said Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) last Tuesday.