Today, the House Natural Resources Committee approved H.R. 1613, the “Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act” with a bipartisan vote of 25-16.  This important legislation would approve and implement the terms of the U.S. - Mexico Transboundary Hydrocarbons Agreement that governs the development of shared oil and natural gas resources along the U.S. – Mexico maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The bill would lift the current moratorium on drilling along the maritime border and provide new access to an area estimated to contain as much as 172 million barrels of oil and 304 billion cubic feet of natural gas.  This will expand energy development, create new American jobs, lower energy prices, generate new revenue, and make America more energy secure. 

“Today we took another step towards embracing an all-of-the-above approach to energy that safely develops our natural resources to help achieve North American energy independence. This bipartisan bill will help lower energy costs while creating American jobs by safely opening up more than 1.5 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for exploration and production. This is a common sense approach to work with our partners south of the border to make both countries more energy secure, while protecting our sovereignty.  This legislation works out the vast majority of differences with the Obama Administration, while also ensuring that those seeking to harvest these resources have the certainty they need to move forward. I’m optimistic that this legislation will pass the House of Representatives, and continue on its path towards becoming law,” said Rep. Jeff Duncan (SC-03).
 
“Approval of this legislation by the Committee is important to finalizing this agreement and expanding American energy production.  This bill would create jobs, lower energy prices by increasing our domestic supply, generate new federal revenue to help lower the debt and strengthen our economy, and make America more energy secure by opening up new areas in the Gulf of Mexico to exploration and development.  In addition, this important legislation would lay the framework for transboundary agreements with other nations that will allow America to fully utilize its shared natural energy reserves.” said Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04). 

The House Natural Resources Committee recently held an oversight hearing on H.R. 1613 where the Obama Administration and expert witnesses both voiced their support of the “Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act.”