[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 97 (Friday, June 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1211-E1212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  INTRODUCTION OF STOP OIL SPILLS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 25, 2010

  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, since the explosion of 
the Deepwater Horizon and the death of 11 workers on April 20, 2010, 
the American people have watched helplessly as millions of barrels of 
oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. It has become obvious that 
the technologies to drill ever deeper for oil and gas have developed 
rapidly, but the technologies needed to prevent or stop catastrophic 
spills have not. That is why I am introducing the Stop Oil Spills Act, 
or the SOS Act. If we are going to drill ultra-deep, we must be able to 
make that drilling ultra-safe and to stop any spill ultra-fast.
  The SOS Act repeals Sections 999A through 999H of the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 and establishes in its place the ``Innovative Offshore 
Drilling Safety Technology Program.'' The bill takes $50 million per 
year in oil and gas royalty payments, which currently are directed to a 
2005 Energy Policy Act program that subsidizes industry development of 
deepwater drilling technology, and redirects those funds to a 
Department of Energy grant program to develop next-generation 
technologies to prevent or stop offshore drilling spills. This new 
program will help ensure that we avoid future offshore well blowouts 
like the one that led to the current disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, 
and that in the event of a blowout, that we have the right tools on 
hand to stop the spill quickly and effectively.
  The latest estimates are that between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels of 
oil are spewing into our territorial waters every day. While BP gave 
assurance that it could respond to a spill of more than four times this 
amount, the reality is quite different. In attempt after failed attempt 
to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf, from ``top kill'' to ``top hat'' 
to ``junk shot'', BP has demonstrated that it is not prepared to deal 
with the consequences of a deepwater well blowout with such great 
pressures and depths. With other companies' spill response plans 
virtually mirroring those of BP's, it appears that the industry as a 
whole is equally unprepared.
  Over the last three years, the five largest independent oil producers 
amassed nearly $289 billion dollars in profits, invested a total of $39 
billion to explore for new oil and gas deposits, and invested more than 
$10 billion in research and development. And yet over that time, 
ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and BP invested an average of just $20 
million per year in research and development on safety, accident 
prevention, and spill response technologies and capabilities. BP CEO 
Tony Hayward's admission that his company lacks the tools to respond to 
the current spill is the direct result of a pattern of investment that 
prioritizes ultra-deep drilling over ultra-safe drilling.
  The SOS Act will not increase costs to taxpayers. The bill is paid 
for by redirecting royalty payments that are now being used to 
subsidize industry development of deepwater drilling technologies, 
something that industry has the resources and incentives to perform on 
its own. The SOS Act will ensure that the technologies we will need to 
respond to the next oil spill are being developed and tested with the 
Federal government's support and guidance.
  The bill requires the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Interior, to establish a program within six months to 
provide awards to support the development, demonstration, and 
commercialization of innovative technologies to prevent, stop, or 
capture large-scale accidental discharges of oil or other hydrocarbons 
from offshore oil and gas drilling operations, including deep-water and 
ultra-deepwater operations.
  The awards will focus on new technologies or innovative improvements 
to existing technologies. These include blowout preventers, secondary 
control systems, remotely operated vehicles or technologies to stop or 
capture hydrocarbons from offshore wells. The bill directs the 
Secretary to select projects on a competitive basis, based primarily on 
the potential for commercialization of the relevant technology and the 
potential to enhance industry's capacity to prevent, stop or contain a 
large-scale spill from offshore drilling operations.
  The program will be carried out in accordance with an annual plan 
prepared by the Secretary that takes into consideration recommendations 
from a Technical Advisory Committee established by the bill, as well as 
recommendations from the independent commission established by the 
President to investigate the Deepwater Horizon spill and the existing 
Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research. The 
annual plan shall be transmitted annually to Congress and made 
available on the Internet.
  Finally, the bill establishes a Stop Oil Spills (SOS) Fund in the 
U.S. Treasury and moves funds from the existing industry research and 
development subsidy program from the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into 
this new Fund. For each of fiscal years 2011 through 2017, from any 
Federal royalties, rents, and bonuses derived from Federal onshore and 
offshore oil and gas leases issued under the Outer Continental Shelf 
Lands Act, $50,000,000 shall be deposited into the Fund. Monies in the 
Oil SOS Fund shall be available to the Secretary for obligation without 
fiscal year limitation and up to five percent of the monies may cover 
the costs of administering the program.
  We will continue to be susceptible to the risk of deepwater blowouts 
and hydrocarbon

[[Page E1212]]

spills as long as we are dependant on petroleum to meet our energy 
needs. While we work to reduce and eliminate this dangerous dependence, 
we must do everything in our power to decrease the likelihood of a 
catastrophic spill and increase our capacity to stop it and respond to 
it. The SOS Act will put us on the path of improving the safety of our 
drilling operations and ensuring that the appropriate tools are in the 
toolbox to respond if another spill emergency ever occurs.

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