End Speculative Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3377 To discourage speculative oil and gas leasing and to promote enhanced mul- tiple use management of public land and National Forest System land, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 2023 Mrs. LEE of Nevada introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To discourage speculative oil and gas leasing and to promote enhanced multiple use management of public land and National Forest System land, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘End Speculative Oil 4 and Gas Leasing Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) Federal land should be managed for mul- 8 tiple uses, resources, and values, including recreation 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3377 IH use, grazing use, timber resources, mineral re- 1 sources, watershed management, wildlife and fish 2 habitat, and natural, scenic, scientific, and historic 3 values; 4 (2) section 17(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act 5 (30 U.S.C. 226(a)) authorizes the Secretary of the 6 Interior to offer for lease only land that is ‘‘known 7 or believed to contain oil or gas deposits’’; 8 (3)(A) in determining whether a parcel of Fed- 9 eral land should be made available for oil and gas 10 leasing and development, and in offering such a par- 11 cel for sale, the Secretary does not meaningfully 12 take into consideration the oil and gas development 13 potential of that parcel; and 14 (B) as a result, the Secretary regularly offers 15 and leases for oil and gas development Federal land 16 that has no or low potential for the development of 17 oil and gas resources (referred to in this section as 18 ‘‘no- or low-potential Federal land’’); 19 (4)(A) no- or low-potential Federal land is fre- 20 quently leased for or near the minimum lease bid 21 and rarely produce oil or gas resources; and 22 (B) as a result, taxpayers in the United States 23 receive minimal revenue from the leasing of no- or 24 low-potential Federal land; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3377 IH (5) making no- or low-potential Federal land 1 available for oil and gas leasing can result in leases 2 being obtained for speculative purposes; 3 (6) the Secretary wastes taxpayer resources in 4 issuing and managing leases on no- or low-potential 5 Federal land; 6 (7) no- or low-potential Federal land frequently 7 supports other economically important uses, re- 8 sources, and values including the uses, resources, 9 and values described in paragraph (1); 10 (8) the existence of leases on no- and low-poten- 11 tial Federal land can and does limit the ability of 12 the Secretary to support and enhance the uses, re- 13 sources, and values described in paragraph (1); and 14 (9) meaningful public participation in leasing 15 decisions is essential and can help to ensure that the 16 decisions of the Secretary are well-informed and 17 based on current and reliable information and data. 18 SEC. 3. POLICY. 19 In accordance with Federal multiple use land man- 20 agement goals, it is the policy of the United States that— 21 (1) the Secretary— 22 (A) shall not, absent exceptional cir- 23 cumstances, offer for lease any Federal land 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3377 IH that has low or no potential for the development 1 of oil and gas resources; 2 (B) shall discourage speculation in the 3 Federal onshore oil and gas leasing program; 4 and 5 (C) by not offering for lease Federal land 6 described in subparagraph (A), shall conserve 7 limited Federal resources that can be better ap- 8 plied elsewhere; and 9 (2) the policies described in paragraph (1) are 10 in keeping with, and are not detrimental to, the en- 11 ergy security of the United States. 12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) DRAINAGE.—The term ‘‘drainage’’ means 15 the migration of hydrocarbons, inert gases (other 16 than helium), or associated resources caused by pro- 17 duction from other wells. 18 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 19 means— 20 (A) public land; and 21 (B) National Forest System land. 22 (3) LAND USE PLAN.—The term ‘‘land use 23 plan’’ means— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3377 IH (A) a land use plan required under sec- 1 tions 201 and 202 of the Federal Land Policy 2 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 3 1712), including any resource management plan 4 (as defined in section 1601.0–5 of title 43, 5 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu- 6 lations)); and 7 (B) a land and resource management plan 8 developed by the Secretary of Agriculture pur- 9 suant to section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland 10 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 11 U.S.C. 1604). 12 (4) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 13 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ in 14 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage- 15 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 16 (5) REASONABLY FORESEEABLE DEVELOPMENT 17 SCENARIO.—The term ‘‘reasonably foreseeable devel- 18 opment scenario’’ has the meaning given the term in 19 the handbook of the Bureau of Land Management 20 entitled ‘‘H—1624–1—Planning for Fluid Mineral 21 Resources’’ (as in effect on the date of enactment of 22 this Act) and issued pursuant to the Federal Land 23 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 24 1701 et seq.). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3377 IH (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di- 2 rector of the Bureau of Land Management. 3 SEC. 5. FEDERAL LAND COVERED BY REASONABLY FORE- 4 SEEABLE DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO ISSUED 5 BEFORE DATE OF ENACTMENT. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to Federal land oth- 7 erwise available for leasing of oil and gas resources pursu- 8 ant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 9 or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 10 351 et seq.) that is covered by a reasonably foreseeable 11 development scenario issued before the date of enactment 12 of this Act, except as provided in subsection (b), the Sec- 13 retary shall not offer the Federal land for lease unless the 14 reasonably foreseeable development scenario for that land 15 includes an assessment of the oil and gas development po- 16 tential of that land that specifically identifies the potential 17 for all acres subject to decisions on availability for leasing. 18 (b) EXCEPTION FOR DRAINAGE.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may offer for 20 lease any Federal land described in subsection (a) 21 without meeting the requirements of that subsection 22 if— 23 (A) the Federal land is adjacent to and 24 within 1 mile of a well producing oil and gas in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3377 IH paying quantities on the date on which the land 1 is offered for leasing; 2 (B)(i) the lease is issued for the purpose of 3 preventing drainage from the adjacent land and 4 the Secretary has determined that an economic 5 well can be drilled; or 6 (ii) the land is included in a State spacing 7 unit; and 8 (C) the Federal land does not exceed 1280 9 acres. 10 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A lease issued under para- 11 graph (1) shall be consistent with the applicable 12 land use plan and all other applicable law. 13 SEC. 6. FEDERAL LAND NOT COVERED BY CURRENT REA- 14 SONABLY FORESEEABLE DEVELOPMENT SCE- 15 NARIO. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub- 18 section (c), if the Secretary determines that Federal 19 land otherwise available for leasing of oil and gas re- 20 sources pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 21 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing Act for 22 Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) is not cov- 23 ered by a reasonably foreseeable development sce- 24 nario issued in accordance with this subsection or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3377 IH section 5(a), the Secretary, in cooperation with the 1 Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National 2 Forest System land, shall complete such a reason- 3 ably foreseeable development scenario prior to mak- 4 ing the Federal land available for lease. 5 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any reasonably foresee- 6 able development scenario issued on or after the 7 date of enactment of this Act shall, at a minimum— 8 (A) assess and designate all Federal land 9 covered by the reasonably foreseeable develop- 10 ment scenario as having high, moderate, low, or 11 no potential for development of oil and gas re- 12 sources; and 13 (B) publish a map depicting the covered 14 Federal land and the development potential for 15 that Federal land designated under subpara- 16 graph (A). 17 (3) FACTORS.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—In completing a reason- 19 ably foreseeable development scenario for Fed- 20 eral land, the Secretary shall take into consider- 21 ation all relevant and available information, in- 22 cluding— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3377 IH (i) past and present exploration and 1 development activity in the vicinity, includ- 2 ing historic trends; 3 (ii) for each lease in the vicinity, the 4 number, location, and types of wells 5 drilled, the representative depth of wells 6 drilled, the number and location of dry 7 holes, the success ratio for wells drilled, 8 and the location, production history, and 9 life expectancy of producing fields; 10 (iii) geological, geophysical, and geo- 11 chemical information for the Federal land, 12 including data and information from the 13 United States Geological Survey, the De- 14 partment of Energy, State agencies, indus- 15 try, professional societies, academic 16 sources, and the public; 17 (iv) structural and stratigraphic data 18 and information relating to basins, fields, 19 and plays on the Federal land; and 20 (v) data and information on the likeli- 21 hood that economically recoverable oil and 22 gas resources are present in a given area, 23 including information submitted by experts 24 and the public. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3377 IH (B) EXPLANATION OF FACTORS.—The 1 Secretary shall document how each factor de- 2 scribed in subparagraph (A) and any other fac- 3 tors considered by the Secretary support the 4 designation of the potential for development of 5 oil and gas resources on the Federal land. 6 (4) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPA- 7 TION.—In developing a reasonably foreseeable devel- 8 opment scenario under this subsection, the Secretary 9 shall— 10 (A) notify the public that the reasonably 11 foreseeable development scenario is being initi- 12 ated; 13 (B) publish a request for information for 14 the reasonably foreseeable development sce- 15 nario; 16 (C) release a draft version of the reason- 17 ably foreseeable development scenario for a 18 public review and comment for a period of not 19 less than 60 days; and 20 (D) consider and respond to public com- 21 ments in the final version of the reasonably 22 foreseeable development scenario. 23 (b) REGULAR UPDATE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3377 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 years 1 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less 2 frequently than every 15 years thereafter, the Sec- 3 retary, consistent with subsection (a) and in co- 4 operation with the Secretary of Agriculture with re- 5 spect to National Forest System land, shall review 6 and update all reasonably foreseeable development 7 scenarios covering Federal land. 8 (2) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in sub- 9 section (c), the Secretary shall not offer for lease 10 any Federal land otherwise available for leasing of 11 oil and gas resources pursuant to the Mineral Leas- 12 ing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leas- 13 ing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) 14 unless the Secretary has updated the reasonably 15 foreseeable development scenario covering that Fed- 16 eral land in accordance with paragraph (1). 17 (c) EXCEPTION FOR DRAINAGE.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may offer for 19 lease any Federal land otherwise available for leas- 20 ing of oil and gas resources pursuant to the Mineral 21 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral 22 Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et 23 seq.) without completing or updating a reasonably 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jun 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3377.IH H3377 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3377 IH foreseeable development scenario for that land under 1 subsection (a) or (b), as applicable, if— 2 (A) the Federal land is adjacent to and 3 within 1 mile of a well producing oil and gas in 4 paying quantities on the date on which the land 5 is offered for leasing; 6 (B)(i) the lease is issued for the purpose of 7 preventing drainage from the adjacent land and 8 the Secretary has determined that an economic 9 well can be drilled; or 10 (ii) the land is included in a State spacing 11 unit; and 12 (C) the Federal land does not exceed 1280 13 acres. 14 (2) REQUIREMENT.—A lease issued under para- 15 graph (1) shall be consistent with the applicable 16 land use plan and all other applicable law. 17 SEC. 7. LAND HAVING NO OR LOW DEVELOPMENT POTEN- 18 TIAL UNDER A REASONABLY FORESEEABLE 19 DEVELOPMENT SCENARIO. 20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 21 (b) and (c), the Secretary shall not offer for lease any Fed- 22 eral land otherwise available for leasing of oil and gas re- 23 sources pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 24 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 25 VerDate S [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]