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Senate to debate offshore drilling

The compromise bill, which would allow drilling in the gulf but protect Florida's west coast, is expected to be approved.

By ANITA KUMAR
Published July 22, 2006

WASHINGTON - The Senate expects to debate and likely pass a proposal next week that would open much of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas exploration, while providing significant protections for Florida's west coast over the next two decades.

Florida's senators support the bill, though Sen. Bill Nelson said he remains cautious because of concerns it could be altered to more closely match a sweeping bill already passed by the House.

"I'm concerned this proposal ... could be changed drastically when House and Senate negotiators meet behind closed doors to craft a compromise," Nelson said in a statement. "A House bill passed last month is too friendly to the big oil companies, and would allow states to approve drilling within just a few miles of the shore."

The Senate compromise unveiled last week would create a 125-mile no-drilling zone off the Florida Panhandle, while the waters off Tampa Bay would be off-limits to drilling for 234 miles. The protections would last through 2022.

Energy companies, meanwhile, would gain access to reserves of oil and natural gas in waters that are now off-limits, and states that allow offshore drilling would earn a larger share of royalties that companies pay for federal drilling rights.

A few weeks ago, the House easily passed a bipartisan bill that called for allowing drilling as close as 50 miles from the nation's Atlantic, Pacific and gulf coasts. States could opt to restrict it for as much as 100 miles offshore, or allow it as close as 3 miles.

If the two chambers pass different bills, as is likely, negotiators would try to work out a compromise.

"There's a delicate balance between developing our nation's natural resources and respecting the wishes of its individual states," said Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, a sponsor of the Senate bill.

"This bill meets both and I thank the chairman for his hard work. I look forward to seeing this bill become law."

Nelson said he asked Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to try to persuade House leaders to agree to the Senate proposal. On Friday, Senate staffers said there had been no assurances.

The Senate bill would authorize drilling in about 8.3-million acres of the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including some 2.5-million acres within a section known as Lease-Sale Area 181, a gas-rich area of the gulf, south and west of the Panhandle.

"This legislation will help to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and natural gas by opening up over 8-million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to environmentally sensitive exploration," Frist said. "This area is estimated to contain 1.26-billion barrels of oil and 5.8-trillion cubic feet of natural gas - enough to heat and cool nearly 6-million homes for 15 years."

To win the backing of senators from gulf states that allow drilling - Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama -- authors of the bill agreed to give them 37.5 percent of royalties from new leases. Now they get as little as 2 percent.

But senators from other states, including California and New Jersey, could block the bill from being debated until they get assurances that their coasts are protected.

Anita Kumar can be reached at akumar@sptimes.com or 202-463-0576.

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 01:13:00]