Posted on 06/21/2005 10:14:02 AM PDT by SmithL
WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Tuesday to conduct an inventory of offshore oil and gas resources, including in areas that have been off-limits to drilling for nearly a quarter century. Opponents called it a prelude to eventual gas development in areas now under a drilling ban.
"This gives Americans full information of what is there," maintained Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. "This is not a drilling amendment."
But senators from a number of coastal states argued vigorously against the inventory, saying the Interior Department already has a good idea of oil and gas resources beneath the Outer Continental Shelf and doesn't need a new accounting.
"It's the first step to drilling. It's the proverbial camel's nose under the tent," declared Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who brought to the Senate floor the Interior Department's last inventory in 2003 and said another one is planned for this summer.
Nelson and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., tried to strip the provision from a broad energy bill. Their amendment was defeated 52-44.
Proponents of the drilling inventory argued that the country needs to know more specifically what offshore oil and gas resources might be available in future years.
Oil and gas development has been banned for more than two decades in almost all of the country's coastal acreage outside the western Gulf of Mexico. Congress enacted the first moratorium in 1981 and later expanded its reach and reaffirmed it every year. A succession of presidents have continued the moratorium since 1990. The latest extension, issued by President Bush, expires in 2012.
But there has been growing pressure to lift the drilling bans - or at least allow some states to get the moratorium waived off their coastlines - and make available new supplies of natural gas.
"We must lower the price of natural gas,"...
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
The Dems continue their obstructionism.
is there a reason the public (who pay all their bills) shouldn't know?
Understand that if all the oil were developed in the US, we'd overwhelm all of the Middle East for years to come. Unfortunately, environmentalists hold sway in D.C. with the demoncRATS and proceed to keep the land locked up.
According to the excerpt, one Rat supported the inventory while one Rino did not.
"This gives Americans full information of what is there," maintained Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. "This is not a drilling amendment."
Nelson and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., tried to strip the provision from a broad energy bill. Their amendment was defeated 52-44.
"It's the first step to drilling. It's the proverbial camel's nose under the tent," declared Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla
notice how the middle eastern (arabian) slang just flows off his lips?
According to the excerpt, one Rat supported the inventory while one Rino did not.
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For sure -- but the Dems have long failed at supportin ANY FORM of a workable energy bill. We have the fine Clinton/Gore years where they deliberately avoided putting together an energy policy -- in fact, they avoided doing much of anything, except working REAL HARD to stay out of jail !!!!
Why should they care? They can vote themselves whatever they want out of the public coffers.
So Mary Landrieu deserves a big pat on the back for bucking her party traditions and coming down on the right side of this one. Louisiana stands to profit handsomely from more drilling in the Gulf.
Good post
The major oil companies and drillers were all set to go to work off shore of New Jersey in the 80's. I know, I was trained for it but then the NY/NJ Dems shut it ALL down and led us into out current import petro dependance.
Now they will try it again.
As a Californian, let me be the first to step up and say that anything that can be done to encourage more offshore exploration and hopefully, eventual extraction is something I value. On this coast, we know for sure that there is still a goodly amount of crude off the South Coast and off of the southerly portions of the Central Coast. As for the North Coast, much of the exploration grinded to a halt during the 80s, as a result of the wildfire like spread of locked down, off limits areas, and the soft prices. There are still a handfull of producing small wildcatters' wells in the mountains to the southwest of SF, extrapolating those trends, there has got to be crude off shore from here. (Also note at least a small amount of tar on beaches up here - nothing like down south, but enough to suggest undersea tar seeps).
Same deal here in Northern California. It meant a career change for me, fresh out of school.
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