Democrats take jab at unused oil leases
News wires
US House Democrats have unveiled a plan to charge new fees on existing oil and gas leases that producers may be holding but not actively working.
Democrats complain that oil and gas producers keep calling for access to new federal lands but have failed to begin work on existing acreage the Democrats say could yield an estimated 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day.
The plan’s slogan, "use it or lose it," would force producers to pay $5 a year for every acre the companies hold but are not working on to produce oil and gas, said the Houston Chronicle.
The fees are then raised to$25 an acre after the fourth year and would rise to $50 an acre every year thereafter.
Hose Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall, is pushing a companion measure that would bar producers from leasing new acreage if they were not using existing leases.
12 June 2008 20:35 GMT | last updated: 12 June 2008
