Receives Commitment from Colleagues that Alaska Will be Included in Any Revenue Sharing Bill Agreed to by Congress
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) offshore revenue sharing bill, S. 2996, the Alaska Offshore Parity Act, advanced late last week out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) to the full Senate. Murkowski’s bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), would establish a federal offshore revenue sharing program for Alaska that provides parity with revenue sharing elsewhere in the outer Continental Shelf.
“I have made it very clear that Alaska must be eligible for the same level of offshore revenue sharing as other coastal producing states, notably the Gulf Coast states. During my time as Chairman of ENR, I drew a bright line that there would not to be any updates to this program unless Alaska was included—as a matter of equity and fairness—and I still ensure the committee adheres to that,” said Senator Murkowski. “Alaska has the largest coastline in the nation and tremendous offshore energy potential, so it is unfair and unacceptable that we would be left ineligible for the same revenue sharing as other states. Fortunately, after working with interested members for nearly a year, we have agreed to a path forward that ensures Alaska will not be left behind any longer.”
Click here for video of Senator Murkowski’s remarks during last week’s ENR markup.
Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf contains an estimated 27.3 billion barrels of oil and 131.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Under current law, however, Alaska does not receive any revenue from the development of those resources, outside of the nearshore areas designated under Section 8(g) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Related Issues: Energy
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