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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: d[-_-]b who wrote (128712)	7/14/2008 10:31:26 PM
From: J_F_Shepard	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

DeFazio: Industry ‘hoarding’ oil leases By Hasso Hering For the Gazette-Times Congressman Peter DeFazio has accused the oil industry of hoarding oil in the ground — by not developing existing leases — in order to drive up prices. The industry replies that oil and natural gas are not necessarily found on federal land already leased or available for lease. DeFazio, D-4th District, started the latest round of this argument with a press release Tuesday. He had joined nine other Democrats in introducing HR 6251, the “Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008.” He said the bill was intended to force oil and gas companies to produce on the 68 million acres of federal lands, both on and offshore, that are leased but sitting idle. “Americans are struggling to make ends meet and yet, Big Oil is restricting domestic production on federal leases and as a result, enjoying record profits,” DeFazio said in his statement. “This measure will put an end to it.” The Democrat-Herald asked the American Petroleum Institute for a response. “U.S. leaseholders are in the business of finding and producing oil and natural gas, and they develop leases in a timely manner if hydrocarbons exist in commercial quantities,” the institute said. “Not every lease contains oil or natural gas resources, nor does every non-producing lease represent untapped resource potential. Natural gas and oil exist on only a small number of leases and are economic to produce on an even smaller number.” Further, the industry said, U.S. regulations already require companies to develop a lease expeditiously or return it to the government and lose their initial payment. The industry also said that according to an administration report, 112 billion barrels of oil and more than 650 trillion cubic feet of gas are “locked up on lands controlled by the federal government and unavailable for leasing.” The oil would be enough to power 60 million cars for 60 years, and the natural gas could heat 60 million homes for 160 years, according to the industry.