The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary, David Bernhardt, last week announced that the Department will disburse nearly $215 million in FY 2018 energy revenues to the four Gulf oil and gas producing states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Commenting the latest announcement , Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise made the following statement: “Revenues from oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico are vital to restoring our coast and protecting coastal communities, which is why I’ve fought to protect this revenue sharing from attempts to raid it.”
“Through this revenue sharing, Louisiana will receive nearly $100 million to invest directly into vital coastal restoration and hurricane protection projects that provide greater security against strong Gulf storms and floods. American energy dominance will play an increasing role in the revenue sharing dollars coming to Louisiana, and I look forward to working with President Trump to support a robust energy strategy in the Gulf of Mexico which allows us to better protect the coast we love.
“I will also continue fighting every day to equalize the revenue sharing from offshore production with that from onshore drilling so that we can finally get our fair share of energy revenues generated off our coast.”
GOMESA funds are derived from qualified oil and gas leasing revenues on the Outer Continental Shelf, and disbursed in accordance with the revenue-sharing provisions of the GOMESA legislation.
During FY 2018, Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) disbursed approximately $76 million to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and $309 million to the U.S. Treasury from bonuses, rentals, and royalties paid for GOMESA leases.