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Letter to the Honorable Elizabeth Dole 1 (July 2005)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo8849 and id is 1 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGT OFFICE Douglas Holtz-Eakin,D U .S. Congress ashington, DC 20515 July 26, 2005 Honorable Elizabeth Dole United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator: As you requested, CBO has reviewed section 326 of H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as passed by the Senate on June 28, 2005. That provision would require the Department of the Interior (DOI) to prepare an inventory and analysis of the oil and natural gas resources beneath the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The provision would require DOI to complete the analysis and report to the Congress within six months of enactment of the bill and to update the report every five years thereafter. Under current law, DOI's Minerals Management Service (MMS) prepares a resource assessment of the OCS every five years to update the agency's five- year leasing plan. The department plans to release the next assessment near the end of this year. Such assessments have relied on available geologic data, including surveys performed with 3-D seismic technology when available. Such data may be purchased by MMS from energy firms or may be provided to the agency as a condition of developing OCS leases. To prepare the assessment that is currently in process, MMS expects to spend about $2 million over an 18-month period. Section 326 of the Senate-passed energy legislation would not prescribe any specific level of spending nor would it establish minimum requirements for conducting the mandated inventory other than directing DOI to use available geologic data, including information that can be obtained from available technology such as the use of 3-D seismic surveys. As a result, the agency would have a great deal of discretion in deciding how to proceed. Based on information from MMS, CBO estimates that spending for resource assessment under H.R. 6 would probably not be significantly different than the spending the department currently plans current law.

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