Lucas Urges More Exploration of American Natural Gas Reserves

LUCAS URGES MORE EXPLORATION OF AMERICAN NATURAL GAS RESERVES

Congressman Supports Bill Allowing Natural Gas Deep-Water Exploration

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Third District Congressman Frank Lucas urged his colleagues today to pass legislation to expand American reserves of natural gas, to help reduce energy costs and U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy. Lucas recently cosponsored legislation to allow deep-water exploration on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

"Higher natural gas costs are being passed on to consumers, through everything from higher electricity bills to more expensive fertilizer for farmers," Lucas said. "We should use all our available resources to alleviate these costs. How much higher must natural gas prices get before we act?"

More than 1/4 of U.S. electricity is made with natural gas, and natural gas is the main component in the production of nitrogen fertilizer used by farmers. Natural gas is also used in the production of thousands of products - from medicines, to textiles, to plastics. Higher natural gas costs translate to higher costs for these goods for consumers.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, U.S. farmers paid $6 billion more for energy over the last two years in part because higher natural gas prices have increased the costs of nitrogen fertilizer.

"Our demand for natural gas is increasing every year," Lucas said. "It just makes sense that instead of increasing our imports of natural gas from foreign countries, we should look at our own supplies instead."

The bill would lift the current prohibitions on the leasing of federal waters along the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for natural gas-only production. It would expand states' control of those federal waters for the purpose of production from three miles, where the line is drawn currently, out to 20 miles. It would also open up the remaining portions of the OCS up to 200 miles for natural gas-only leasing.

The bill also provides 40 percent of revenue sharing to individual states for all new natural gas leasing off their coasts, potentially sending billions of additional dollars to states encouraging new production, as well as to states - predominantly on the Gulf Coast - that have been producing natural gas for years.

The bill would also direct 10 percent of all revenue earned from new offshore natural gas leasing to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal account created to help low-income Americans pay their heating bills over the winter.

The legislation was authored by Rep. John Peterson(R-PA). It has been referred to the House committees of jurisdiction for consideration.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ok03_lucas/deepwater.html