Office of the Secretary

DNR SECRETARY TO SIT ON FEDERAL COMMITTEE TO ASSESS ROLE OF OCS IN NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION

Jack Caldwell, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, has been asked by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. Department of Interior to serve with a group that will assess the role the Outer Continental Shelf will play in meeting the demand for the nation's future natural gas supply.

With the supply of natural gas approaching a crisis situation, the MMS has asked its OCS Policy Committee, of which Caldwell is a member, to form a subcommittee to look to the nation's own borders for future natural gas supplies. Both short and long term action will be considered to ensure the OCS will play its proper role in that production.

"I'm honored to serve in this capacity. The federal OCS off Louisiana's coast is the largest offshore producer of natural gas in the United States. It will play an even more important role in future energy production for our nation." Caldwell said. "As the only member of the sub-committee from an OCS producing state, I hope to lend valuable insight to the issue."

Caldwell also served on the subcommittee that created the formula by which OCS offshore revenues could be shared with producing states for coastal impact assistance and with all coastal states for conservation purposes. The formula ultimately was used in the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last year. It would have provided more than $280 million for Louisiana annually for 15 years to restore its disappearing coastline. While the measure did not reach the floor of the Senate, the bill will be reintroduced in Congress this year.

Editors: For more on this topic, please contact DNR Public Information Officer Phyllis Darensbourg at 225-342-8955.