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Energy Independence

I joined the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in legislation calling for additional oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. The legislation, S. 2253, would direct the Department of the Interior to lease parts of the area commonly referred to as Lease Sale 181, an area of about 3.6 million acres that is estimated to contain approximately 6tcf of natural gas, within the next year.

The legislation was passed in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on March 8, 2006, by a vote of 16 to 5. Passage of this measure means that we are one step closer to providing more natural gas and lower prices for states like North Dakota.

The legislation does not alter any of the existing executive or congressional moratoria on the outer Continental Shelf. The measure does not allow leasing activity within 100 miles of the Florida coastline. This legislation provides the greatest near term option for increasing our supply of natural gas because the area is close to existing infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, meaning the gas can get to the market more quickly.