Bill > S176

This bill rejects the current 5-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for fiscal years 2013-2018, which outlines where and when oil and gas companies can lease areas of the seabed for exploration and extraction. Instead, it proposes to adopt the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program from 2010-2015 as the new official plan for the 2013-2018 period. This new plan is intended to better align with the United States' energy and economic needs, and it is considered to have met all environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. However, specific lease sales identified as 214, 232, and 239 will be excluded from this new program, and the bill clarifies that it does not alter existing restrictions on oil and gas leasing in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico as established by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.