[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4604 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4604

    To direct the Minerals Management Service to grant the State of 
 Louisiana and its lessees a credit in the payment of Federal offshore 
  royalties to compensate for oil and gas drainage in the West Delta 
                                 Field.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 1998

   Mr. Tauzin (for himself, Mr. Livingston, Mr. Baker, and Mr. John) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Minerals Management Service to grant the State of 
 Louisiana and its lessees a credit in the payment of Federal offshore 
  royalties to compensate for oil and gas drainage in the West Delta 
                                 Field.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ROYALTY RELIEF.

    (a) Royalty Relief.--The purpose of this Act is to grant relief 
efficiently and expeditiously to the State of Louisiana and the State 
lessees for moneys owed to the State and the State lessees under 
section 6004(c) of Public Law 101-380 (104 Stat. 558, 559). Payment of 
Federal offshore royalties owed by the States lessees to the United 
States under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act may be withheld by 
the State lessees if, on or before the date that the royalty payment 
concerned is due and payable to the United States, the State lessees 
make a payment to the State of Louisiana at a rate of 44 cents for 
every $1.00 of royalty withheld.
    (b) Period of Royalty Relief.--The royalty relief granted under 
subsection (a) shall commence with respect to royalty payments due and 
payable to the United States after the date 60 days after the enactment 
of this Act and shall end when the total of the royalty relief granted 
under subsection (a) is equal to the full amount of the authorization 
set forth in section 6004(c) of Public Law 101-380 plus simple interest 
at 8 percent per year from March 21, 1989, in accordance with such 
section 6004(c).
    (c) Manner of Payments.--Payments by the State lessees to the State 
of Louisiana under this Act shall be made in a manner mutually agreed 
upon by the State of Louisiana and the States lessees. Any dispute 
between the State of Louisiana and the State lessees as to the manner 
of payments to the State under this Act shall be resolved by the 
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Minerals 
Management Service, in the exercise of his discretion.
    (d) Reports.--The State lessees shall provide a quarterly report to 
the Director of the Minerals Management Service listing the Federal 
leases for which royalty payments are withheld pursuant to this Act. 
For each such Federal lease the report shall detail the amount and 
dates of production from those leases, the value of royalties due on 
production from any such leases, and the outstanding balance, if any, 
of royalty relief still owed to the State lessees and the State of 
Louisiana under section 6004(c) of Public Law 101-380.
    (d) Definition of State Lessees.--As used in this Act, the term 
``State lessees'' means those companies of individuals, and their 
successors and assigns, that, during the Critical Time Period, as 
defined in the March 21, 1989 Third Party Factfinder Louisiana Boundary 
Study provided to the Department of the Interior under contract number 
14-35-0001-30469, held lease rights in the State of Louisiana leases 
SL10087, SL10088, and SL10187, but did not hold lease rights in Federal 
Lease OCS-G-5669.
                                 <all>