By the OGJ Online Staff
WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 14 -- Expanding coalbed methane production from public lands remains an important goal for the Bush administration, two top officials told Congress Thursday.
Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke and US Forest Service Deputy Chief Tom Thompson testified about the administration's fiscal 2003 budget request.
"[Coalbed methane] is high on my radar screen," said Clarke, speaking before the Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources. "It's time to take a fresh look at things and make sure the process does not get in the way. Let's look at the deliverables," she said.
"There has in the past been an analysis/paralysis problem," added Thompson.
The White House wants Congress to spend an additional $5 million above last year's $49 million budget for USFS' minerals and geology program. Trying to manage industry's increasing interest in coalbed methane production is a key reason why more money is needed, administration officials said.
BLM's Clarke acknowledged that coalbed methane is not without controversy. She said expanded production creates some conflicts with other stakeholders, but "we don't have all the answers." Environmental groups often oppose coalbed methane drilling while there are a few lingering disputes between the coal and oil industry over mineral rights.
The White House budget request earmarked $10 million more than last year for BLM energy and minerals activities. Of that, oil and gas management under BLM's jurisdiction would get $8.3 million, according to Republican committee staff. "The president proposes an 11% increase in funding for the oil and gas program to be used to continue support for the National Energy Plan, increase the availability of oil and gas, and evaluate and eliminate impediments to development."
In 2001, BLM administered more than 50,000 oil and gas leases, of which 21,000 were producing oil and gas, the committee report said.
"Domestic production from federal onshore leases (from over 94,000 wells) accounts for about 10% of the nation's natural gas production and 5% of domestic oil production," the committee report said.
Some of the money will be used to streamline permitting, add staff, and conduct environmental impact studies. About $3 million is earmarked to support a 2004 lease sale in the northeastern sector of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) if authorized, and support for the Joint Pipeline Office's repermitting of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
Clarke said if ANWR leasing is not approved the agency will "roll ahead" regardless, citing the potential of NPR-A as an example. The White House budget predicts that the US Treasury will get $2.4 billion in ANWR bonus bids during fiscal 2004. A House Republican energy bill includes a provision to lease a portion of ANWR. But Senate Democratic leaders say they may abandon an energy bill in that body if ANWR leasing is included.
