wwltv.com article from jay

jay [wwl.blog.today@blogger.com] has sent you an article from wwltv.com. Story: New oil revenue provides hope, protection, say state officials Thank you

New oil revenue provides hope, protection, say state officials 04:03 PM CST on Saturday, December 9, 2006 Brett Martel / Associated Press A newly approved federal plan to share Gulf of Mexico drilling royalties with Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states hopefully will fuel a boost in optimism among coastal residents worried about the future of their vulnerable, storm-battered communities, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu said. WWL-TV / File Photo "It would have been a serious psychological setback to redevelopment," if Congress had failed to approve the measure, Landrieu said. Passed by both houses on Capitol Hill and sent to President Bush early Saturday morning, the legislation represents a historic national investment in Louisiana. It will send billions of dollars here -- as well as to Mississippi, Texas and Alabama -- for the purposes of rebuilding eroded coastal lands and fortifying hurricane protection. While most of the money Louisiana stands to get from new offshore oil production will not begin to flow directly to the state for 10 years, the committed revenue stream means the state can begin selling bonds to finance coastal protection projects right away. In addition, the proposed law opens up a new 8.3 million-acre tract of the Gulf to drilling, and the new sharing formula will begin for new leases in that area immediately. The legislation also extends by two years, or until 2010, Gulf Opportunity Zone -- or GO Zone -- tax credits. The GO Zone incentive, passed in late 2005, allows businesses to take a 50 percent tax reduction for new facilities or equipment in areas affected by hurricanes Katrina or Rita. Therefore, more than financing better barriers to protect against flooding from storm surge, the bill also should spur additional investment and job creation, lawmakers said. "This is not only morale boost, but an economic anchor dropped in the Gulf to secure the region," Landrieu said. The chief measure in the legislation would provide Gulf Coast states with 37.5 percent of federal royalties from new oil and gas leases off of their coasts. Incidentally, that was the same sharing formula offered by President Truman in 1949 and rejected by Louisiana in a bid to get more. That move failed and has cost the state billions of dollars since. Projected revenues for L! ouisiana under the new sharing plan are about $13 billion over the first 30 years, all of which is to be used for storm protection and coastal restoration. That is in addition to more than $8 billion in emergency spending on flood protection already committed to Louisiana and less than half spent so far, said Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie. Applauding Louisiana's Congressional delegation, Blanco called the revenue sharing measure a "critical first step we've been waiting for as we go forward with our long-term coastal protection and restoration efforts." "This dedicated revenue stream will provide the foundation of financial support we need to ultimately complete what will be the largest public works project in our nation's history," Blanco said. The revenue sharing plan was attached to a larger tax package that included numerous provisions lawmakers favored -- ranging from extension of tax breaks for college cost s to building more energy efficient homes and protecting Medicare funds. Not all of its provisions were popular with coastal Louisiana residents. The measure also loosens restrictions on seafood imports, which Louisiana's fishing industry opposed. "I've looked at these trade provisions very, very carefully, particularly with regard to Louisiana fishermen's concerns about Vietnam," Vitter said. "Although I understand their very strong concerns, I've decided that both of these trade initiatives are, on balance, good for America and Louisiana." (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

wwltv.com article from jay

jay [wwl.blog.today@blogger.com] has sent you an article from wwltv.com. Story: Congress gives energy companies greater access to Gulf of Mexico Thank Yoy

Congress gives energy companies greater access to Gulf of Mexico 05:44 PM CST on Saturday, December 9, 2006 H. Josef Hebert / Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Congress approved expanded offshore drilling in its final hours, giving energy companies access to oil and natural gas deposits in a vast area once off limits in the Gulf of Mexico. WWL-TV / File Photo President Bush, who is expected to promptly sign the legislation, said it "will help to reduce our dependence on imported sources of energy by increasing access to domestic sources of oil and gas (and) ... strengthen our energy security." Opponents of the bill said its revised formula for sharing royalties from energy production in federal waters -- which will funnel billions of dollars to four Gulf states -- would cut into government revenue at a time when the federal government faces huge deficits. The legislation opens 8.3 million acres of Gulf waters 125 miles from the Florida Panhandle. It was part of a massive tax package that cleared the Senate early Saturday shortly before the 109th Congress adjourned. The House passed it on Friday. The bill calls for the Interior Department to begin offering leases within a year. Actual production likely would be at least four or five years beyond that. The area is believed to have 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 6 trillion cubic feet of gas, enough to heat 6 million homes for 15 years. The country uses about 21 million barrels of oil a day. The bill also will produce a revenue windfall for Louisiana and three other Gulf coast oil producing states. For the first time, the states will get 37.5 percent of future royalties from Gulf oil and gas production in federal waters off their coastlines. The money would be used for coastal restoration and hurricane recovery. They now get royalties only from production in close-in state waters. Louisiana, which has the most production off its coast, estimates it will receive more than $13 billion over the next 30 years as part of the revenue sharing, according to Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. She called it a "fair share" to states adjacent to oil and gas producing waters and said it will assure "a dedicated stream of revenue" for wetlands restoration, floo! d contro l and recovery from Hurricane Katrina and future hurricanes that might hit the region. But the revenue sharing was criticized by some lawmakers. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called it a raid on the U.S. Treasury and Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., questioned sending so much money to four states in the face of government deficits. Capps said the legislation "will cost taxpayers billions, weaken coastal protections (against drilling) in place for 25 years and does little to increase energy security." She criticized GOP leaders for attaching it to a tax package that included numerous provisions lawmakers favored -- ranging from extension of tax breaks for college costs to building more energy efficient homes and protecting Medicare funds. Environmentalists maintained the expanded offshore drilling could be a first step toward lifting the long-standing drilling bans that have been in place along both the Pacific and A tlantic coasts. Business groups embraced the drilling measure, hoping new domestic production might reduce natural gas prices. Even though it will be a number of years before any of the oil or gas will be produced from the newly opened area, John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, called Congress' action a "shot in the arm ... critical to the U.S. economy." It "significantly increases the energy security for more than 200 million Americans," added David Parker, president of the American Gas Association, the trade group that represents gas utilities. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)