The Shell-contracted rigs Kulluk and Discoverer (right) set sail from Seattle in July 2012 for Royal Dutch Shell's ultimately unsuccessful drilling campaign offshore Alaska in Summer 2012. Photo credit: Vigor Industrial
By Jennifer A. Dlouhy (Bloomberg) — Legislation to block oil drilling in most U.S. waters and Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge edged closer to passage Thursday, as the House Natural Resources Committee rejected more than a dozen changes sought by Republicans.
The bill would slap new fees on oil and mining companies and effectively block the proposed Resolution Copper mine in Arizona while doling tens of billions of dollars to climate resilience, drought relief, conservation and other programs.
The committee is expected to approve the bill next week after spending roughly nine hours considering the measure Thursday. Congressional Democrats then would fold the measure into the broader $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending legislation they are developing to expand the government’s role in health care, combat climate change and fulfill much of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.
On Thursday, panel Democrats united in party-line votes to reject Republican-backed amendments to eliminate proposed fees and restrictions on oil operations, among other changes. More amendment votes are expected when the committee resumes considering the bill on Sept. 9.
Related Article; Biden To Resume Selling Offshore Drilling Rights as Appeal Unfolds
The legislation would bar the sale of new oil and gas leases in Pacific and Atlantic waters as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It also would abolish a four-year-old requirement that the government sell drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain while voiding nine leases issued in that northeast Alaska region earlier this year.
Other provisions would rule out domestic uranium production near the Grand Canyon, create annual fees of up to $10,000 per mile on offshore pipelines and effectively block the Resolution Copper Co. mining project proposed by Rio Tinto Plc and BHP Group Plc in Arizona.
© 2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 108,976 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
A US aircraft carrier strike group left the Red Sea for Europe weeks after Yemen’s Houthi rebel group said it will stop attacking vessels in the region.
China's retaliatory tariffs on the United States may cause U.S. oil exports to decline in 2025 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, after growth plateaued last year.
A. P. Moller-Maersk A/S, a bellwether for world trade, forecast growth in the global container market as it sees consumer demand defying an intensifying trade war.
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 108,976 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
