Omnibus energy legislation went down to the wire in the closing days of the 102nd U.S. Congress.
The House adjourned after approving the compromise energy bill, 36360. The Senate planned to resume debate on the wide-ranging legislation late last week.
Prospects for passage were clouded because Sens. Richard Bryan and Harry Reid, both Democrats, planned to filibuster the bill to protest radiation dose standards in environmental studies for the siting of a nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, their home state.
Apart from filibustering, Bryan and Reid could demand that the entire 1,300 page bill be read aloud in the Senate.
Proponents of the bill also faced the problem of getting enough senators to return from a recess and vote to override the filibuster.
Sixty senators would have to vote to limit debate on the energy bill, a vote that energy lobbyists said could be close.
Earlier this year, the Senate approved its version of the energy bill 94-4 on one occasion and 93-3 on another.
Now added to the energy bill is a provision granting independent producers some relief from the alternative minimum tax which they say has restricted investments in drilling.
Otherwise, the legislation is neutral on oil and gas production (OGJ, Oct. 5, p. 41).
House-Senate conferees deleted provisions to expedite construction of gas pipelines, leaving such issues to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Because they could not agree, they dropped provisions that would have extended bans on offshore leasing in certain areas, required the government to buy back some offshore leases, and limited state action to prorate natural gas production.
Energy Sec. James Watkins said the bill would stimulate U.S. energy production, promote energy efficiency, and reform regulatory barriers to uses of some energy. He said it could reduce oil imports 4.7 million b/d by 2010.
INDUSTRY VIEWS
The Natural Gas Supply Association said the bill's provisions reforming the Public Utility Holding Company Act will encourage the growth of independent power producers burning natural gas. "We were also pleased that the long term moratorium on offshore drilling was deleted," NGSA said.
The American Petroleum Institute said the bill does too little to encourage production of more oil and gas. "We are disappointed that the bill omits the biggest component of any domestic National Energy Strategy, the potentially vast oil resources in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."
The Independent Petroleum Association of America said the antiproration provision in the House bill would have undermined state oil and gas conservation authority in 39 states and caused chaos in domestic gas markets.
The American Gas Association praised the alternative fuel chapters, which would facilitate development of vehicles using natural gas.
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America said although provisions to streamline pipeline construction were deleted, "we know FERC is implementing many of these procedures, and we encourage them to continue to do so."
The National Ocean Industries Association said the bill is "not altogether bad," but because it does not encourage oil and gas production it cannot be called an energy bill.
Copyright 1992 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
