It's rather hard these days to figure whether or not the U.S. Interior Department favors offshore drilling.
That's due partly to new political appointments and partly to Interior's conflicting roles of preserving federal land while exploiting its resources.
So, not surprisingly, two top Interior officials weren't very reassuring on oil issues that surfaced at last week's Energy Council meeting in Washington, D.C.
The council consists of legislators from nine oil producing states-Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming-and Canada's Alberta province. The nine states and Alberta account for 85% of U.S. and Canadian oil and gas production.
LUKEWARM SUPPORT
Interior Sec. Bruce Babbitt left the impression he is lukewarm in support of offshore drilling - and then only if the drilling is in the Gulf of Mexico.
He said, "Energy policy has to proceed from some base of public consensus and support. What I can do most effectively at Interior is raise public confidence" in the government's oversight of offshore drilling.
The Energy Council's main concern was about the Minerals Management Service's draft proposal to implement the 1990 Od Pollution Act (OPA) with strict insurance requirements for coastal and offshore operators. The council has urged Congress to reconsider the law.
MMS Director Tom Fry explained his agency doesn't see much "wiggle room" in implementing OPA but wants to encourage public comment.
It certainly has done that. The comment period had to be extended three times, and 1,500 persons or groups have sent letters. Fry said, "That's by far the most comments we've ever received on anything we've ever done."
In his talk to the Energy Council, Fry seemed to be looking for wiggle room on OPA.
He reassured the legislators, "It was not our intent ... that OPA would be applied in this broad way. We simply wanted people to come and tell us what they thought."
Fry promised MMS doesn't want to be in the business under OPA of regulating anything but offshore facilities.
He said the final rule should not just require operators to carry a blanket level of insurance but contain a balance between the risk of spills and the level of insurance.
And Fry pledged the administration will ask Congress for some legislative fixes for OPA if necessary.
ENDANGERED LIZARD
As the meeting ended, the Dune Sagebrush lizard illustrated the current strain between industry and Interior.
New Mexico legislator Robert Light of Carlsbad complained the Bureau of Land Management has suspended well permitting in a Chaves County, N.M., area because it may be a habitat for the lizard, which is on the state's endangered species list.
None of the Interior officials present seemed interested.
Light complained, "BLM used to be industry's partner (on leasing). Now BLM and M.',VIS seem to be our adversaries."
Copyright 1994 Oil & Gas Journal. All Rights Reserved.
