[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 263 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 263

  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for leasing of certain 
                    lands for oil and gas purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             January 24 (legislative day, January 10), 1995

 Mr. Campbell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for leasing of certain 
                    lands for oil and gas purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
    Section 1. Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is 
amended by adding the following new subsection at the end thereof:
    ``(O)(1) Authority To Lease.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Energy, may lease for oil and gas exploration, 
development, and production the public domain lands located in Garfield 
County, Colorado, reserved by Executive order of the President dated 
December 6, 1916 (as amended by Executive order of the President dated 
June 12, 1919), and by Executive order of the President dated September 
27, 1924, subject to valid existing rights, and pursuant to the 
requirements of this Act.
    ``(2) Management.--The Secretary of the Interior, through the 
Bureau of Land Management, shall hereafter manage the surface estate in 
the lands covered by this subsection, pursuant to the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701, et seq.), and other 
laws applicable to the public lands.
    ``(3) Royalty.--A lease of lands by the Secretary of the Interior 
under this subsection shall be conditioned upon the payment of a 
royalty pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, except that the 
Secretary may establish a sliding scale royalty of not less than 12.5 
percent and not more than 25 percent in amount or value of the 
production removed or sold from the lease.
            ``(A) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, a lease 
        of lands by the Secretary of the Interior under this subsection 
        shall be conditioned upon the payment of a royalty pursuant to 
        subsection (b).
            ``(B) The Secretary of the Interior may establish a sliding 
        scale royalty of not less than 12.5 percent and not more than 
        25 percent in value of the production removed or sold from a 
        lease under this subsection.
            ``(C) The royalty payable to the United States on oil or 
        gas produced on said lands, shall be paid in crude oil of a 
        quality acceptable to the Secretary of Energy produced on or 
        off the reserve and shall be deposited into the Strategic 
        Petroleum Reserve established pursuant to the Energy Policy and 
        Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6235 et seq.): Provided, That 50 
        percent of the value that the Secretary establishes for the 
        royalty oil shall be paid to the State from amounts received 
        which otherwise would be deposited to the Treasury as 
        miscellaneous receipts under section 35 of this Act, as 
        amended: Provided further, That with respect to such royalty 
        oil there shall be no payment to the reclamation fund or the 
        Treasury as miscellaneous receipts under section 35 of this 
        Act, as amended.
    ``(4) Existing Equipment.--The lease of lands by the Secretary 
under this subsection may include the transfer, at fair market value, 
of wells, gathering lines, and related equipment owned by the United 
States on the lands referenced in paragraph (1) and suitable for use in 
the exploration, development, or production of hydrocarbons on such 
lands.
    ``(5) Cost Minimization.--The Secretary of the Interior shall take 
all actions necessary to ensure that the cost of compliance with this 
section is minimized.
                                 <all>