Shelf

The House Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a Republican-sponsored bill that would expand oil and natural leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf during 2012-2017. But the victory may be short-lived because it’s unlikely that the GOP plan, which was proposed as a replacement to the Obama administration’s slimmed-down OCS leasing plan, will be voted out of Congress.

House Republicans are offering an alternative to the Obama administration’s plan for drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), which would nearly double the number of lease sales now proposed over the 2012-2017 period and open up new areas — the Mid-Atlantic and Southern California — to exploration.

House Republicans are offering an alternative to the Obama administration’s plan for drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), which would nearly double the number of lease sales now proposed over the 2012-2017 period and open up new areas — the Mid-Atlantic and Southern California — to exploration.

U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar Thursday offered the final version of the department’s OCS [Outer Continental Shelf] Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017, sticking to tried and true areas in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and holding out delayed possibilities in Alaska.

U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar Thursday offered the final version of the department’s OCS [Outer Continental Shelf] Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017, sticking to tried and true areas in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and holding out delayed possibilities in Alaska.

U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday the finalized version of the five-year program for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing expected to be released within days will follow a “targeted” format. He also affirmed it was “highly likely” that Royal Dutch Shell plc will be granted the permits to drill exploratory wells in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea this summer.

In what will be the final lease sale under the existing five-year Outer Continental Shelf plan, Interior Department last Thursday said it would make available to producers in June all unleased areas in the Central Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Planning Area offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including 7,276 blocks on about 38.6 million acres.

Two Interior Department agencies have issued updated guidance to oil and natural gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) on how to conduct archaeological resource surveys and prepare archaeological reports, based on additional new information about the likely location of historical resources.

The U.S.Coast Guard should make sure that annual security inspections are conducted of all Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) facilities and upgrade its database where inspection information is stored, the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) recommended in a new report. Until then, the security of offshore facilities will be spotty at best, the agency said.