Gulf O&G revenue cap may be lifted

Louisiana could receive an additional $1.9B in revenue from Gulf of Mexico oil and gas and a separate share of revenue from Gulf wind energy operations under the federal 'Reinvesting In Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act' that was unanimously approved July 21 by the U.S. Senate's Energy and Natural Resource Committee. The approval clears the way for it to be considered by the full Senate. The legislation was authored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The bill would lift a present $500M annual cap on O&G revenue shared with other Gulf states. Altogether, the Gulf states could receive $4.4B more in offshore revenue over the next decade if the cap is dropped, according to estimates of O&G prices in the years ahead and provided by University of Louisiana at Lafayette economist Stephen Barnes. The bill would also provide a 37.5% share of federal revenue from offshore wind facilities located in federal waters of those states, with amounts divvied up based on how close the facilities are to state borders. Another 12.5% of the wind funds would go to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund, which funds projects aimed at understanding and using ocean and coastal resources and infrastructure. According to officials in Cassidy’s office, the consideration of the bill July 21 was the result of an agreement between Gulf Coast and other senators with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVa.), who chairs the committee. The legislation comes as the Biden administration has prioritized using the Gulf to produce wind energy. On July 20, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, announced it has identified two possible locations for wind generation projects in the Gulf - One about 56 nautical miles off of the coast of Lake Charles; and a second, 24 miles off Galveston, Texas. (Source: NOLA.com 07/20/22) Louisiana could see $1.9B from Gulf oil, additional money from wind, under Senate bill | Environment | nola.com