United States | Byrne Joins Effort to Increase Gulf Coast Energy Revenue
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United States | Byrne Joins Effort to Increase Gulf Coast Energy Revenue
United States – Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) recently threw his support behind H.R. 6771, the Domestic Offshore Energy Reinvestment Act of 2018, which would increase the amount of revenue from oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico that is available to the Gulf states.
The bill, which was introduced by Congressman Garret Graves (R-LA), amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) to increase the amount of oil and gas revenue that is made available to Gulf states like Alabama. The bill advanced out of the House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday.
Congressman Byrne said: “Money from the GOMESA program is critical to coastal Alabama and allows for important infrastructure, coastal restoration, flood mitigation, and other projects. Under this bill, Alabama and the other energy producing states in the Gulf would receive more money, in line with what onshore states receive for their energy production. I am committed to working with my Gulf Coast colleagues to get this bill across the finish line and support our coastal communities.”
Currently, 50 percent of oil and gas revenues goes to the federal government, 37.5 percent is shared among Gulf states, and 12.5 percent goes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This bill would increase the state percentage to 50 percent and reduce the federal amount to 37.5 percent. The Land and Water Conservation Fund would continue to receive 12.5 percent. The bill also removes the current $500 million revenue sharing cap.
This year, Alabama received $21 million through GOMESA while Baldwin County received $2.47 million and Mobile County received $2.88 million.
Since coming to Congress Rep. Byrne has consistently offered an amendment to the Department of Interior Appropriations bill to protect important GOMESA revenue.
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SOURCE: news provided by byrne.house.gov on September 14, 2018.
