IPAA independent petroleum association of america, america's oil and gas producers

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Energy Policy Fact Sheets

Support DOI Cost-Cutting and Land Access Measures

During this election year, the Independent Petroleum Association of America has focused its agenda on legislative and regulatory items that are achievable.

Royalties:

The IPAA will remain advocates for reduced royalties during low oil and gas prices, as well as marginal gas wells. However, given the current political climate, any royalty investment program will need to be pursued administratively.

Cost Cutting Legislative Measures:

Bingaman Legislation: The IPAA supports Senator Bingaman’s bill, S. 1997 that eliminates the federal government’s ability to deduct from federal oil and gas royalty dollars sent to the states a portion of its costs. This bill will properly recognize the role of states with regard to federal land and return more revenues to states IPAA members reside in, dollars that typically go to education.

Murkowski Legislation: The IPAA strongly supports the following components of a comprehensive energy bill led by Senator Murkowski.

  1. Speed up the processing of permits and applications to operate on public lands: Independents can't afford to have investment capital sitting idle while they wait for overdue approvals.
  2. Streamline processes related to the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA): Advocate appropriate funding for BLM so they can more timely and comprehensively conduct environmental document updates.
  3. Delegation to States: Wherever possible, delegate federal oil and gas activities to willing states. Such delegation eliminates costly and timely duplication between federal and state governments.
  4. Have the DOI and/or DOE conduct an inventory of its oil and gas resources contained in the Rockies: This inventory would accurately reflect the lands that are not available for development because it hasn’t been leased, it has been administratively withdrawn, or it has been leased but contains stipulations that are so restrictive economic development is not feasible. This land inventory may be included in some other legislative vehicle.

Regulatory Initiatives

  1. Promote timely development of coalbed methane in the Powder River Basin: IPAA will actively pursue needed appropriations to ensure environmental documents and corresponding drilling permits are conducted in a timely fashion.
  2. Forest Service Regulations: IPAA will comment aggressively on all regulations and environmental documents that are being issued by the Department of Interior Forest Service, for example the road less regulation, which greatly restrict land access. These activities will be closely coordinated with lead regional and state associations. Litigation options regarding the proposed roadless policy are being investigated.
  3. BLM Plain English Rule: Continue to participate in efforts to ensure that BLM doesn’t issue a plain English re-write of all of its oil and gas regulations increases costs or uncertainty for producers. Additionally, IPAA is concerned about BLM’s desire to rewrite its offshore oil and gas lease form.

August 2000