Outer

Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), chairman of the House Resources Committee, is working to reattach expanded Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) drilling to the pending budget reconciliation package, according to Capitol Hill aides.

Less than a week after House leaders scrapped expanded Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) development as part of the deficit-reduction package, two members of the House Resources Committee are expected to introduce stand-alone legislation by Tuesday that would eliminate the moratorium with respect to drilling for natural gas on the federal OCS.

There was considerable activity and noise in both the House and Senate last week to open up additional areas — the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) — to oil and natural gas exploration and production. But it still remains to be seen whether this will translate into concrete action by lawmakers this year.

Two House Republican amendments seeking to remove the congressional moratorium on exploration and production in portions of the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) were vanquished last Thursday.

Two House Republican amendments seeking to remove the congressional moratorium on exploration and production in portions of the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) were vanquished Thursday.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced legislation Thursday that would automatically reserve a “significant portion” of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues for distribution to the five energy-producing coastal states that aren’t restricted by moratoria off their shores.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), looking to foster exploration in more remote areas of the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf, is assessing industry interest in exploring for oil and gas in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea/Hope Basin and Norton Basin.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), looking to foster exploration in more remote areas of the Alaska Outer Continental Shelf, is assessing industry interest in exploring for oil and gas in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea/Hope Basin and Norton Basin.

Updating its estimates for undiscovered technically recoverable resources (UTTR) underlying offshore waters on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), the Minerals Management Service (MMS) said last week that new exploration activities in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Scotian Basin offshore Canada have revealed that there is 12% more recoverable gas than estimated in 2000. The MMS now estimates that there are 76 billion barrels of oil and 406.1 Tcf of recoverable natural gas in federal offshore areas.