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Showing posts with label BOEM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BOEM. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

CRS finds US production grew outside federally controlled areas


CRS finds US production grew outside federally controlled areas

03/05/2013
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While US oil and gas production has climbed to its highest level in 2 decades, all of the growth since 2007 has occurred outside federally controlled areas where production actually declined, a recent report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service found.
“Private sector investment and new technologies are driving increases in oil and gas production,” said US Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy and Power Subcommittee, which released the Feb. 28 CRS analysis on Mar. 5.
“Where the states have been in charge, we have seen energy development boom in a safe and responsible way, but under federal control we have seen a sharp decline in production,” he declared. “A web of red tape and a backlog of delayed permits are blocking important energy production opportunities on federal lands.”
All of the fiscal 2007-12 US crude oil production increase took place outside nonfederal areas onshore and offshore, and the federal share of total domestic crude output fell by about seven percentage points during that period, the report said.
US gas production has grown by 4 tcf/year since 2007 as output grew by 40% on state and private land and fell by about 33% on federal onshore and offshore areas, it added.
Congress may consider two different proposals to increase oil and gas production from federally issued leases, according to the report’s executive summary.
Nonproduction fee
It noted that some members have proposed a $4/acre annual fee on nonproducing tracts which they believe are not being developed in a timely fashion. US Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar imposed higher federal offshore lease rents in 2009 to discourage holding unused leases and to move more tracts into production if possible, it said.
Other members of Congress may propose legislation to streamline federal oil and gas drilling permit application processing, the report continued. It said that a review mandated by the 2005 Energy Policy Act found the average time it took producers and the US Bureau of Land Management to process a federal drilling permit application climbed from 218 days in fiscal 2006 to 307 days in 2011.
“The difference, however, is that in 2006 it took BLM an average of 127 days to process an [application], while in 2011 it took BLM 71 days,” CRS said in its report. “In 2006, the industry took an average of 91 days to complete [a drilling permit application], but in 2011, [it] took 236 days. BLM stated, in its fiscal 2012 and 2013 budget justifications, that overall processing times per [application] have increased because of the complexity of the process.”
“As [gasoline] prices continue to rise past $4/gal, American families are looking to Washington for solutions to help provide relief at the pump,” Whitfield said. “Expanding oil production on federal lands offers a real opportunity to help increase domestic supplies and stabilize prices as well as boost federal revenues.”
Contact Nick Snow at nicks@pennwell.com.

BOEM finishes draft EIS for Eastern lease sales


BOEM finishes draft EIS for Eastern lease sales

3/4/2013
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NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for two proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico’s Eastern Planning Area and is seeking public comment on the document.
Lease Sales 225 and 226, scheduled for 2014 and 2016, are part of the Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017 (Five Year Program). The Five Year Program makes all areas with the highest-known resource potential available for oil and gas leasing in order to further reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil.
“The draft environmental impact statement evaluates baseline conditions and potential environmental effects of oil and natural gas leasing, exploration, development and production in the Eastern Planning Area, and updates information already published,” said BOEM Director Tommy P. Beaudreau. “It is an important part of the decision-making process, and I strongly encourage the public to provide input on this document.”
Domestic oil production is currently higher than at any time in nearly a decade and natural gas production is at its highest level ever. Foreign oil imports now account for less than 50 percent of the oil consumed in the U.S – the lowest level since 1995. In fiscal year 2012, Interior paid out $12.15 billion in revenue generated from energy production on public lands and offshore areas – a $1 billion increase over the previous year.

The Five Year Program schedules 12 potential lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.
For the Western and Central Planning Areas, the program schedules annual area wide sales of all available, unleased acreage, as has been the typical practice in these areas. Additionally, since a portion of the Eastern Planning Area (EPA) was made available for leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, Lease Sales 225 and 226 are scheduled there. The remainder of the Eastern Planning Area is under congressional moratorium.

The EIS is available for review online here. BOEM will begin accepting comments on the EIS following the publication date of the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

BOEM will hold public hearings to solicit comments on the EIS from interested citizens and organizations. Comments will be used to prepare the final EIS for these proposed Eastern Planning Area oil and gas lease sales.
The public hearings will be held at the following locations:
• Tallahassee, Fla.: March 26, Hilton Garden Inn Tallahassee Central, 1330 Blairstone Road, Tallahassee, FL 32301; one meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT;
• Panama City Beach, Fla.: March 27, Wyndham Bay Point Resort, 4114 Jan Cooley Drive, Panama City Beach, FL 32408; two meetings, the first beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT and the second at 6:00 p.m. CDT;
• Mobile, Ala.: March 28, Five Rivers—Alabama’s Delta Resource Center, 30945 Five Rivers Boulevard, Spanish Fort, AL 36527; one meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT;
• Gulfport, Miss.: March 29, Courtyard by Marriott Gulfport Beachfront MS Hotel, 1600 East Beach Boulevard, Gulfport, MS 39501; one meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT; and
• New Orleans: April 1, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70123, beginning at 1:00 p.m. CDT.
The comment period will be open for 45 days following the publication of the Notice of Availability of the Draft EPA 225/226 EIS in the Federal Register. Comments may be submitted online at boemegomeis@BOEM.gov. Written comments should be submitted in an envelope labeled “Comments on the EPA 225/226 Draft EIS” by mail (or hand carried) to Gary D. Goeke, Chief, Regional Assessment Section, Office of Environment (GM 623E), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70123-2394. 
Comments may also be submitted through the regulations.gov web portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Use “Oil and Gas Lease Sales: Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf; Eastern Planning Area Lease Sales 225 and 226” as the search term.
 
To download or view the EPA 225/226 Draft EIS. For additional information, go to www.boem.gov\gom-sales\ on the BOEM website.