Offshore drilling swap amendment excludes Destin Dome

Posted 8:38AM on Wednesday 24th April 2002 ( 23 years ago )

PENSACOLA, Fla. - A proposal by U.S. Sen. Bob Graham that would allow petroleum companies to swap drilling leases off a portion of Florida's gulf shore for sites elsewhere suffered a setback Tuesday. The Florida Democrat was unable to get a commitment from Senate leaders to consider the plan, which would affect leases in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, as an amendment to a wide-ranging energy bill expected to come up for a vote Thursday. An area where drilling is most likely also has been excluded from the voluntary swap amendment because of a pending lawsuit. The amendment is an alternative to legislation Graham and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., had sought that would have required the federal government to buy back leases in the eastern gulf. "The money just isn't there at this point," said Graham spokesman Paul Anderson. The Senate voted 86-13 Tuesday to end debate on the energy bill. Graham voted against the motion because the leadership had agreed to consider only 14 amendments and his was not among them. Graham was looking for other ways to get it into the bill, possibly by attaching it to another amendment, Anderson said. Leases with active drilling permit applications are exempt from the amendment in an area known as the Destin Dome that extends as near to shore as 25 miles south of Pensacola. Chevron USA and two partners, Conoco and Murphy Oil, want to drill up to 21 natural gas wells there. They would be the first production wells of any kind off Florida's shores. The state has used its authority under the federal Coastal Zone Management Act to reject the drilling permits. The companies have taken their case to court and have an appeal pending before Commerce Secretary Don Evans, who can overrule the state. Lawyers on both sides asked for the exclusion because of worries the amendment could impede settlement negotiations, Anderson said. But, he said, Graham still wants to block drilling at Destin Dome. "We see the mechanism that would be created under the amendment as an approach that should be considered in the Destin Dome negotiations," Anderson said. The amendment would give drillers the option of trading existing leases in the eastern gulf at any time for credits that could be used no sooner than 2012 to buy leases elsewhere. "It provides a win-win-win situation for the current leaseholders, for the environment and the economy," Graham said on the Senate floor Monday. He also responded to drilling supporters who say every part of the country should be an energy supplier, Florida included. "That's a fundamental misunderstanding of what the United States of America is," Graham said. "We have a common destiny, but we all have different things to contribute." Graham noted Florida provides more than half the citrus consumed by the nation as well as more than half the national supply of phosphate, an element used in fertilizer and some industrial activities. Florida also provides the nation with fresh vegetables during the winter and attracts more tourists than any other state, Graham said. The state, however, has few energy sources and its critical tourism industry could be seriously harmed by offshore drilling, Graham said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/195582