By:  Brown                                            S.C.R. No. 34
 1-1                        SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-2           WHEREAS, A strong domestic oil and gas industry is vitally
 1-3     important to the United States economy and national defense; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, This nation's domestic oil and gas production has
 1-5     decreased by 2.7 million barrels per day during the last 13 years,
 1-6     a 17 percent decline, at the same time that domestic consumption of
 1-7     oil has increased by more than 14 percent; and
 1-8           WHEREAS, Currently, the United States imports approximately
 1-9     55 percent of the oil needed for the American economy, while the
1-10     demand for refined petroleum products is projected to increase by
1-11     more than 35 percent and the demand for natural gas is projected to
1-12     increase by more than 45 percent over the next two decades; and
1-13           WHEREAS, Much of the nation's greatest potential for future
1-14     domestic production lies in areas that are currently off limits to
1-15     oil and natural gas exploration and development, including areas
1-16     under congressional or presidential moratoria in the federal Outer
1-17     Continental Shelf (OCS), where vast amounts of oil and natural gas
1-18     may be available for extraction; and
1-19           WHEREAS, For the first time since 1988, the Minerals
1-20     Management Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the
1-21     Interior that manages the nation's oil, gas, and other mineral
1-22     resources in the OCS, has proposed an OCS lease sale for the
1-23     eastern Gulf of Mexico, in the portion of the Gulf 100 miles
1-24     southwest of the Florida Panhandle and 15 miles south of the
 2-1     Alabama coastline; the bureau's tentative schedule calls for bid
 2-2     opening and reading in December 2001; and
 2-3           WHEREAS, The oil and gas industry has demonstrated that it
 2-4     can be a good steward of the environment while operating in the
 2-5     Gulf of Mexico; and
 2-6           WHEREAS, Oil and gas production from this area of the Gulf of
 2-7     Mexico would help offset current domestic energy production
 2-8     declines and assist the nation in meeting future energy demand; and
 2-9           WHEREAS, Numerous positive economic benefits for the State of
2-10     Texas have been created by oil and gas industry activities in the
2-11     Gulf, and many of the exploration and production companies that
2-12     would participate in the OCS Lease Sale 181 are headquartered in
2-13     Texas as are many of the oil field supply and service companies
2-14     that would benefit by increased activities; and
2-15           WHEREAS, The economic benefits that would result from oil and
2-16     natural gas exploration, development, and production of leases
2-17     acquired in OCS Lease Sale 181 would continue to benefit the State
2-18     of Texas and all the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico; now,
2-19     therefore, be it
2-20           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
2-21     hereby declare support for the Minerals Management Service plan to
2-22     proceed with the Outer Continental Shelf Lease Sale 181 for the
2-23     eastern Gulf of Mexico scheduled for December 5, 2001; and, be it
2-24     further
2-25           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
2-26     copies of this resolution to the director of the Minerals
 3-1     Management Service, to the secretary of the interior, to the
 3-2     president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of
 3-3     representatives and the president of the senate of the United
 3-4     States Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to the
 3-5     Congress of the United States of America.