[Congressional Bills 103th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 1170 Reported in Senate (RS)] Calendar No. 509 103d CONGRESS 2d Session S. 1170 [Report No. 103-303] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for leasing of certain lands for oil and gas purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ July 7, 1994 Reported with amendments Calendar No. 509 103d CONGRESS 2d Session S. 1170 [Report No. 103-303] To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for leasing of certain lands for oil and gas purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 29 (legislative day, June 22), 1993 Mr. Campbell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources July 7, 1994 Reported, under authority of the order of the Senate of June 27 (legislative day, June 7), 1994, by Mr. Johnston, with amendments [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for leasing of certain lands for oil and gas purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Section 1. Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by adding the following new subsection at the end thereof: ``-(-o-)-(-1-) (p)(1) Authority To Lease.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, may lease for oil and gas exploration, development and production the public domain lands located in Garfield County, Colorado, reserved by Executive order of the President dated December 6, 1916 (as amended by Executive order of the President dated June 12, 1919), and by Executive order of the President dated September 27, 1924, subject to valid existing rights, and pursuant to the requirements of this Act. ``(2) Management.--The Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management, shall hereafter manage the surface estate in the lands covered by this subsection, pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701, et seq.), and other laws applicable to the public lands. -`-`-(-3-) -R-o-y-a-l-t-y-.----A -l-e-a-s-e -o-f -l-a-n-d-s -b-y -t-h-e -S-e-c-r-e-t-a-r-y -o-f -t-h-e -I-n-t-e-r-i-o-r -u-n-d-e-r -t-h-i-s -s-u-b-s-e-c-t-i-o-n -s-h-a-l-l -b-e -c-o-n-d-i-t-i-o-n-e-d -u-p-o-n -t-h-e -p-a-y-m-e-n-t -o-f -a -r-o-y-a-l-t-y -p-u-r-s-u-a-n-t -t-o -s-u-b-s-e-c-t-i-o-n -(-b-) -o-f -t-h-i-s -s-e-c-t-i-o-n-, -e-x-c-e-p-t -t-h-a-t -t-h-e -S-e-c-r-e-t-a-r-y -m-a-y -e-s-t-a-b-l-i-s-h -a -s-l-i-d-i-n-g -s-c-a-l-e -r-o-y-a-l-t-y -o-f -n-o-t -l-e-s-s -t-h-a-n -1-2-.-5 -p-e-r -c-e-n-t-u-m -a-n-d -n-o-t -m-o-r-e -t-h-a-n -2-5 -p-e-r -c-e-n-t-u-m -i-n -a-m-o-u-n-t -o-r -v-a-l-u-e -o-f -t-h-e -p-r-o-d-u-c-t-i-o-n -r-e-m-o-v-e-d -o-r -s-o-l-d -f-r-o-m -t-h-e -l-e-a-s-e-. ``(3)(A) Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, a lease of lands by the Secretary of the Interior under this subsection shall be conditioned upon the payment of a royalty pursuant to subsection (b). ``(B) The Secretary of the Interior may establish a sliding scale royalty of not less than 12.5 percent and not more than 25 percent in value of the production removed or sold from a lease under this subsection. ``(C) The royalty payable to the United States on oil or gas produced on said lands, shall be paid in crude oil of a quality acceptable to the Secretary of Energy produced on or off the reserve and shall be deposited into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve established pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6235 et seq.): Provided, That 50 percent of the value that the Secretary establishes for the royalty oil shall be paid to the State from amounts received which otherwise would be deposited to the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts under section 35 of this Act, as amended: Provided further, That with respect to such royalty oil there shall be no payment to the reclamation fund or the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts under section 35 of this Act, as amended. ``(4) Existing Equipment.--The lease of lands by the Secretary under this subsection may include the transfer, at fair market value, of wells, gathering lines, and related equipment owned by the United States on the lands referenced in paragraph (1) and suitable for use in the exploration, development or production of hydrocarbons on such -l-a-n-d-s-.-'-'-. lands. ``(5) Cost Minimization.--The Secretary of the Interior shall take all actions necessary to ensure that the cost of compliance with this section is minimized.''.