Offshore Staff

(US, GoM) – A bipartisan group of senators have reached an agreement on legislation aimed at increasing energy production in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a statement issued today by the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The bill still has to be passed by the Senate and signed by the President before it can be considered active legislation.

Committee Chairman, Pete Domenici, says, "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached on oil and natural gas drilling on the OCS. Passing this bill is the most important thing we can do in the near term to impact the price of natural gas and boost our domestic energy supply."

"The American consumer is increasingly burdened with high energy costs," he adds. "This legislation will address that problem in a very real way by providing greater access to American energy sources and lessening our dependence on imports."

According to the statement, this agreement builds upon the out of committee passing of the Lease Sale 181 bill (S. 2253) on March 8 by granting coastal states a 125-mi buffer through the year 2022 and establishing a revenue-sharing system for Gulf-producing states, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Federal Treasury.

07/12/06