Transcripts For CSPAN Hearing Focuses On Oil And Gas Develop

CSPAN Hearing Focuses On Oil And Gas Development On Federal Lands July 3, 2017

The subcommittee on energy and Mineral Resources will come to order. The subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on examining access to oil and gas lands. Ent on federal i ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from arkansas mr. Westerman be allowed to sit with the subcommittee and participate with the hearing. Without objection so ordered. Opening statement at the hearings are limited to the chairman and the ranking minority member and a vice chair. This will allow us to hear from our witnesses sooner and help members keep their schedules. Therefore i ask unanimous consent that all of the member Opening Statements be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted to the subcommittee clerk by 5 00 p. M. Today. Without objection, so ordered. Can we do that now . Right here . Chair gosar now, i ask that there not be any type of disruption regarding the testimony given here today. It is important that we respect the rules and the decorum of the house and allow the public to hear our proceedings. Today, the subcommittee will examine access to oil and Gas Development on onshore federal lands. Onshore federal oil and gas accounts are roughly 20 of americas production and is integral to our nations independence and security. Not only has the new due to the burdens of the federal middle development process. Not only has the administration inherited a backlog of 3,000 drill permit applications but an incredibly burdensome regulatory scheme that discourages investment and development. It is critical that we evaluate these obstacles to ensure a fair return to the American People. There are many factors that influence an operators decision to lease and develop hydro carbons. Including oil price, geology and transmission infrastructure. And while some may point to low Commodity Prices as a reason to withhold production market , conditions are no excuse for poor policies or for the federal government failing to uphold statutory obligations. In fact many operators avoid , federal lands due to unquantifiable risk and un the uncertainty. The current permitting processes are fraught with uncertainty, duplication and delay. Designating lands for development can take years and parcels nominated for lease were often explicitly retracted from the auction. Although the act requires quarterly lease sales of eligible land, this requirement has not been enforced for years. Furthermore, once an operator has successfully navigated the federal leasing scheme, the leasing must still proceed through the application for a permit to drill or a. P. D. Review process which could set , drilling back over a year. The uncertainty, delay and risk presented throughout the process make operational and Financial Planning nearly impossible and is a detriment to the locality, state and the American People. Despite the complications and inefficiencies of leaseing and permitting under the Previous Administration, we are confident the new administration will take the time to carefully examine and optimize the blms processes. Secretary ryan zinke he testified before us last week and a shared steps he is taken to recommit to holding up the mission. In addition to increasing program funding, the secretary has committed to improving field Office Performance and we are grateful for the initial steps in the right direction and we look forward to finding a practical solution for the developer the process. With that i organized the Ranking Member for his statements. Thank you. Rep. Lowenthal thank you, mr. Chairman. First i want to compliment you and all the members on both sides of the aisle of this committee as weve been doing so , well in our last few meetings. Theyve been bipartisan, cooperative and constructive. I think today is going to be a little more contentious. And i hope that that does not end, that spirit. Mr. Chairman i dont oppose oil , and Gas Development on public lands, but i do oppose letting oil and gas industry call all the shots on how to manage those lands that are owned by all americans. You know, in all of the above policy does not mean that we dont set priorities. And i am concerned about our priorities. Its only taken five months and nearly every move on energy that this administration has made could have come right out of the executive board rooms of the American Petroleum institute or the National Mining association. That may actually be the case given the number of oil, gas and , coal lobbyists who now occupy high ranking positions at the interior department, energy department, the Environmental Protection agency and in the white house. Rules to protect public health, gone. Rules to protect our land, air and water and cut down on pollution, gone. Rules to protect fish and wildlife, gone. Rules to make sure that companies are paying their fair share, gone. The standard seems to be did the Obama Administration put it in place and did one oil and gas or coal company complain about it . If so, its gone. In no place is it more important to balance multiple uses Environmental Protections as well as Economic Development than on americas public lands. This idea of balance, this idea that some areas should be protected while others can be developed is at least in danger now and soon that would be gone too. To quote the statement of the acting assistant secretary, Americas Free markets will help determine where and when Energy Development on public lands is feasible. That means that the idea that these lands which belong to all americans should be managed in a way that will ensure that they are here for our children and our grandchildren. That idea is now gone. Instead the administration is , operating under the idea that the department of the interior should become a service station for the oil and gas industry. Which lands would you like to lease . Where and how fast do you want to drill . What regulations do you want us to repeal . Are these National Monuments getting in your way . Just let us know. The department of interior is apparently here to keep you happy. Secretary zinke paid lip service to the idea of supporting all forms of energy to be in favor of the all of the above policy. But if we look at his budget, it increases oil and gas and coal programs by 34 million while renewables suffer a 15. 3 million cut. In fact, the fossil fuel program increase seems to be the only one in the entire interior budget that has an increase. Weve seen this movie before. Weve seen an administration where Energy Policy was literally written by big oil. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, the only measure of success for the bureau of Land Management was how many drilling permits it could issue. What did we get . Interior Department Officials thrown in jail, regulators doing drugs and literally getting into bed with the people they were supposed to be regulating, and a thirst for mineral revenues that put Safety Standards on the back burner and helped to contribute to the deep water horizon, according to the president ial oil spill commission. When it comes to giving the keys to our public lands to the oil and gas industry, President Trump has made the Bush Administration look bush league. Look, the fact is that oil and Gas Companies are doing just fine on our public lands and in our oceans. Despite the misleading statistics that theyre going to throw around today. Oil statistics really show that Oil Production on public lands is up 59 since 2008. Offshore production is at a record high. Companies have more than 7500 approved drilling permits that theyre not using and 26 million acres of public land under lease to be developed. Shows you from 2008 through right through 2015 the federal onshore Oil Production and how its increased every single year up to 2015. And 2016 was slightly below 2015 but above all the other years. , so in closing, i just want to say our new quest for Energy Dominance, whatever that means, means that never nothing is enough. We must do more. Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, boating, offroading, grazing and all the use of our public lands are now second to second class oil and gas is dominant. So, mr. Chairman, we have an opportunity on this subcommittee to ensure that energys policies reflect the multiple uses of our public lands for the benefit of all of our constituents, not just the special interests of a few billionaires. Lets not squander it. Mr. Chairman, i just want to say in closing, i understand your out a few your send days ago, the title of this hearing would be focusing on onshore. And i will try to abide by that. However, the title of the hearing was really called examining access to oil and Gas Development on federal lands. And as you know, our outer Continental Shelf is really defined as submerged lands lying seaward of the coastline. This ms. Or macgregor there may be some questions that come up. Chair gosar i thank the gentleman for that clarification. Im going to get now to introducing our witnesses. Miss katherine macgregor. Now im going to yield time to the gentleman from new mexico to introduce the first witness. Rep. Pearce thank you. Id like to introduce ryan flynn whos executive director of the new mexico oil and gas association. As director of that, he has watched the permitting times on our wells increase from around 200 days to get that permit, to something over 400. He was formerly the secretary of new Mexico Environmental Department where he has a strong reputation of balancing Energy Development with responsible environmental stewardship. Ryan, appreciate you being here to testify today. I yield back. Chair gosar thank you. Our next witness is mr. Mark sclochie, dr. Laura nelson. Let me remind the witness that under our Committee Rules they must limit their oral statements to five minutes. But their entire statement will appear in the hearing record. Our microphones are not automatic so youll have to press that little button. And if it will kind of watch upfront the first four minutes , its green, then it will turn yellow. Then when you see red, please summarize. I will let the entire panel testify before we ask questions. This i will recognize ms. Macgregor for her testimony. Welcome back. Ms. Macgregor thank you. I have to say its very good to be back here today. I absolutely loved working here with both majority and may and minority staff. Im currently acting as secretary for land and Minerals Management at the department of the interior. Our responsibility is the management of four bureaus, the office of surface mining, the bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the bureau of safety and Environmental Enforcement and the bureau of lands management. I appreciate the opportunity to testify in the oil and gas program which plays a Critical Role in our Nations Energy economy. The blm manages 200 million surface acres and 700 million sub surface acres. Most of which are located in 12 western states, including alaska. Production was 7 of our nations on shore oil, 10 of our natural gas and 41 of our coal produced domestically. As well as approximately 18,000 megawatts of Renewable Energy. Last year the blm oil and gas , program generated over 1. 56 billion in royalties, rental payments and bonus bids, all of which were shared with states. States and counties in turn use these funds for roads, schools and other important municipal needs. Public lands are integral to the administrations America First Energy Agenda and the priority to maintain u. S. Energy dominance by growing inging by growing Domestic Energy production and sustaining jobs throughout our country. Access to responsible Energy Development on these lands begins with the planning and leasing process. 10 years ago, the blm had nearly 45 million acres under lease. Today we are at 27 million acres. This is nearly identical to the total area currently designated as areas of critical and environmental concern, also known as standing at over 24 million acres. This is nearly 10 of all blm managed lands in the unite. United states. In 2016, they designated a. 2 million acres, the most acreage since 1980. This is one example of designations that limit how public lands may be used. Responsible Energy Production and conservation need not be mutually exclusive. That is why it is vitally important to restore our mission and strike the appropriate balance in on shore leasing that allows for job creation in rural america. This is about restoring balance. Under secretary zinke, the department and the blm have been proactive in prioritizing responsible Energy Production on public lands. Including by secretarial order. Order 3349 aims to remove duplicative burdens on Energy Production. While promoting job growth for hard working american families. Order 3352 will jump start alaskan Energy Production in the National Petroleum reserve alaska, helping to unleash Energy Protection of potential. These efforts have already shown to be effective. Under the secretarys leadership the blm has had more lease sales offered more acreage and , generated more revenue in 2017 than this same time last year. Were only just getting started. The blm plans to hold 14 additional lease sales this is year. Promoting access to public lands does not come without challenges. Im sure that all members of this committee are in close contact with their state and local leaders who is erers who do not hesitate to communicate their frustrations. It is the secretarys goal to restore trust. And improve relationships with our state and local partners. Many of him rely upon the economic revenues that come from responsible Gas Production on public lands in the west. For example the u. S. Census , bureau has found that rural new mexico has one of the highest poverty rates in the country yet rural new mexico is , home to some of the most Promising Oil and natural gas deposits in the entire world. These resources are a tremendous source of jobs, Economic Growth and revenue for these communities. This is why the Administration Remains committed to promoting responsible oil and Gas Production that creates jobs, promote a robust economy and contribute to Americas Energy security. There are a multitude of factors that affect access to federal oil and Gas Resources and the department and the blm are reviewing all of these and taking action where possible to encourage development. And improve efficiencies, without cutting corners on our duties to ensure that these activities are done and environmentally responsible way. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today and i will be happy to answer questions. Chair gosar thank you. I now recognize mr. Flynn for his five minutes. Thank you. Mr. Flynn thank you. Thank you members of the subcommittee and staff. My name is ryan flynn. Im the executive director for the new mexico oil and gas association. Prior to taking over, i was the secretary of environment and Natural Resource trustee in the state of new mexico and worked in State Government for approximately six years, almost six years prior to taking this role. I want to thank representative pearce for recognizing me and i want to recognize him as well. He has been a tremendous leader. His district is home to one of the most resilient and productive oil and gas plays in the world. The great Permian Basin. I want to talk to you a little bit about new mexicos oil and gas industry and talk to you about some challenges to oil and Gas Development on federal lands in new mexico and suggest some opportunities for improving blms operations in new mexico. I want to be very clear that my goal here today is not in any way, shape or form to criticize blm individually. We have had a tremendous working relationship with blm staff and leadership and we look forward to continuing that working relationship moving forward. But like any large agency there are several opportunities for improvement. And i believe the secretary has inherited a difficult situation but he is more than capable and , up to the task for turning things around in a positive direction. New mexicos oil and gas industry is the most important economic industry to the state of new mexico. Last year in 2016, new mexicos oil and gas industry contributed 1. 6 billion to the states federal fund or budge

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