8-22-12

As we noted yesterday ("Shameful Management…."), the Financial Post report below represents a sharp contrast between comptently managed Canadian natural resource policy and incompetently managed U.S. natural resource policy. Scroll down for additional evidence from Chairman Doc Hastings (NGP Photo) that the American Executive Branch is ill-prepared and/or ill-disposed to serve. -dh

Financial Post. Stephen Harper is on his annual visit to the North this week, quoting Robert Service and boosting the region’s vast resource potential. “The North” holds a particular place in the Canadian psyche, somewhat similar to that of “The West” in the 19th-century U.S. One thing nobody wants to see, however, is a jurisdictional “Wild North.” One reason why attention has moved north in recent years is the possibility of regular commercial passage through the Northwest Passage due to climate change. This has brought sovereignty to the fore, an issue given a new twist by the recent transit of a Chinese vessel. China wants Arctic waters to be international, an open approach that is remarkably different from the policy China pursues closer to home. In fact, Mr. Harper’s visit this year is built around the North’s economic promise rather than the assertion of offshore rights. There is a reason for soft-peddling sovereignty and security. The bold measures Mr. Harper announced in previous years — from new ice-patrol vessels to new research facilities — have been frustratingly slow to materialize.

Oil & Gas Online. Amid policy debate over potential liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the United States, a new paper from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy predicts the long-term volume of exports from the U.S. will not likely be very large. The paper also argues that the impact on U.S. domestic natural gas prices will not be large if exports are allowed by the U.S government.

House Approves Bipartisan Job-Creating Energy Bill to Replace President Obama’s No-New-Jobs, No-New-Energy Offshore Plan

In July, the House in a bipartisan vote rejected President Obama’s offshore drilling plan that keeps 85% of our offshore areas off-limits. According to Chairman Hastings, the President’s plan "re-imposes the drilling moratoria lifted in 2008, hurts job creation and keeps new areas of American energy production sidelined."

In a separate bipartisan vote, the House approved H.R. 6082, to replace President Obama’s no-new-jobs, no-new-drilling plan with a responsible, robust plan that offers 29 offshore lease sales in areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources. Read more here.

House Passes Bipartisan Strategic and Critical Minerals Bill to Create U.S. Jobs and Strengthen National Security

In July, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4402, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, sponsored by Rep. Mark Amodei (NV-02).

The bill would streamline government red tape to allow the U.S. to more efficiently develop our Nation’s strategic and critical minerals, such as rare earth elements, that are vital to job creation, American economic competitiveness and national security. Read more about the legislation here.

Committee Continues Oversight Investigation Into Edits Made to Drilling Moratorium Report

For over a year the Committee has conducted an investigation into why an Obama Administration report that recommended a six-month drilling moratorium in the Gulf was edited to make it appear as though the moratorium was supported by a panel of engineering experts.

On August 1, the Committee approved a motion to authorize Chairman Hastings to issue subpoenas to five Obama Administration officials who were personally involved in developing the Drilling Moratorium Report. To date, the Department of the Interior has flouted an official Congressional subpoena from the Committee to provide documents and information on this matter. The imposition of the moratorium cost thousands of jobs, caused widespread economic harm throughout the Gulf, and decreased American energy production. Read more on the investigation here.

House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Boost Offshore American Energy Production and Job Creation

In June, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4480, the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, with a bipartisan vote of 248-163. The bills included in this package were:

H.R. 2150 (Hastings, WA-04), National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act. This bill cuts through bureaucratic red tape to unlock the full potential of energy resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) by ensuring that oil and natural gas are developed and transported in a timely and efficient manner.
H.R. 2752 (Johnson, OH-06), BLM Live Internet Auctions Act. This bill gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to conduct Internet-based auctions for onshore leases to ensure the best return to the Federal taxpayer, reduce fraud, and secure the leasing process.
H.R. 4381 (Tipton, CO-03), Planning for American Energy Act. This bill establishes common sense steps to create an all-of-the-above American energy plan for using federal lands to meet our Nation’s energy needs.
H.R. 4382 (Coffman, CO-06), Providing Leasing Certainty for American Energy Act. This bill makes reforms to the leasing process for onshore oil and natural gas projects on federal land in order to eliminate unnecessary government delays and hurdles.
H.R. 4383 (Lamborn, CO-05), Streamlining Permitting of American Energy Act. This bill reforms the process for energy permitting, once a lease is in hand, to encourage the timely development of our federal onshore oil, natural gas, and renewable resources.

This bipartisan package of bills will expand American energy production on federal lands and create new American jobs by streamlining government red-tape and regulations. It will also set long term production goals to establish a real all-of-the-above American energy plan. Read more about the legislation here.

Second Subpoena Issued to Interior Dept for Investigation into New Obama Coal Regulations that Could Cost Thousands of Jobs

In May, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) issued a second subpoena to the Department of the Interior (DOI) for additional information related to the Committee’s yearlong investigation into the Obama Administration’s rewrite of the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule.

The second subpoena follows after DOI has failed to comply with an April 5th subpoena for documents. The Obama Administration’s rewrite of this coal regulation, which had already undergone five years of environmental analysis, could cost thousands of jobs, negatively impact the economies of 22 states and significantly harm American energy production.

The Committee also released internal documents and audio recordings obtained by the Committee through outside sources, which raise further questions into the highly unusual manner in which the Obama Administration is rewriting the 2008 Rule. Read more about the investigation here.

State and Local Experts Warn That Federal Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing Will Destroy Jobs, Harm America’s Energy Security

In May, the Obama Administration announced new regulations on hydraulic fracturing on federal lands that could have significant consequences for natural gas and oil development on federal lands, job creation, and local economic growth. The latest draft of federal hydraulic fracturing regulations is part of an endless effort by the Obama Administration to restrict access to American energy resources on public lands. The Administration’s roadblocks, hurdles and insistence of duplicative federal government regulation has made producing oil and natural gas on federal lands more difficult, which has driven energy producers and job creators away.

At a field hearing in Denver, CO, Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn noted that "in the West, where the energy industry is a driving force of the local and statewide economies, through very comprehensive stakeholder discussions, states have crafted their own regulations to monitor hydraulic fracturing within their boundaries. These regulations include input from all stakeholders involved and take into consideration the needs of the local communities, local environment and geography and still allow for a robust energy industry to thrive." Yet the Obama Administration’s "recently announced plans to implement a one-size-fits all program of hydraulic fracturing regulations threaten to impede this progress in all states." Read morehere.