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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The oil and natural gas industry is a vital part
3of the United States' economy, and increasing domestic energy
4production and reducing dependence on foreign supplies are in
5the best interest of our nation's strategic and economic
6well-being; and
 
7    WHEREAS, High oil and gas prices, our growing reliance on
8imported oil, and price volatility clearly demonstrate the
9imperative to change course and expand domestic oil and gas
10production; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Expanding domestic production will reduce our
12dependence on foreign oil and natural gas and significantly
13reduce the billions of dollars we send abroad each year; and
 
14    WHEREAS, As our reliance on oil and natural gas will
15necessarily continue for the foreseeable future, we can no
16longer rule out the value of our own significant proven oil and
17gas reserves nor the value of a future significant discovery
18anywhere in or off the shores of the United States; taking
19advantage of our own resources will create new investment and
20new jobs here at home; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is an area of

 

 

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1some 1.76 billion acres submerged off the United States'
2coasts that is controlled by the federal government;
3approximately 97% of the OCS is under federal moratoria
4preventing any exploration or production of oil and natural
5gas; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
7estimates that the OCS contains 86 billion barrels of oil and
8420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas; because exploration is
9prohibited on the vast majority of the OCS, these estimates
10are primarily based on survey projections and are likely quite
11conservative; additionally, approximately 83% of federal lands
12onshore, containing some 28 billion barrels of oil and 207
13trillion cubic feet of natural gas, are under moratoria or
14severely restricted; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In the 26 years since the OCS moratoria were put
16into place, the technology utilized to extract oil and gas has
17evolved, significantly reducing the environmental impact of
18producing the resources; advanced multidimensional seismic
19imaging allows a much higher degree of accuracy in locating
20oil and gas deposits, which reduces the amount of drilling
21necessary while increasing the amount of resources recovered;
22pressure gauges and safety valves incorporated into offshore
23production facilities diminish the possibility of spills;
24these technologies have reduced the spillage rate to just

 

 

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10.001%; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The U.S. has significant reserves of liquid fuels
3derived from coal, oil sands, and oil shale as well as expanded
4infrastructure to enable greater access to these resources
5located throughout North America; and
 
6    WHEREAS, According to the Department of Energy, the United
7States has recoverable reserves of coal equivalent in energy
8value to nearly six trillion barrels of oil, oil shale
9amounting to more than two trillion barrels of oil, and heavy
10oil and oil sands equal to another 154 billion barrels of oil,
11some portion of which can be converted to liquid fuels such as
12gasoline and diesel; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Unfortunately, much like the moratoria on energy
14development on the OCS, there is also a legal prohibition
15against the federal government leasing much of this land for
16exploration for oil shale; keeping these lands off limits is
17stunting the investments necessary to improve the technology
18to extract these valuable resources in an environmentally
19responsible manner; and
 
20    WHEREAS, If the United States could embark on new domestic
21oil and gas exploration efforts and invest in building its
22domestic energy infrastructure, it would not only help with

 

 

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1the energy transition here at home, it would also help keep
2costs down for American families, strengthen our economy,
3create jobs, and make American energy secure; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
5HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6we strongly urge the President of the United States to develop
7and implement new sound domestic energy exploration and
8production policies to strengthen U.S. energy security and
9ensure that the United States can provide its people with
10stable, affordable, and reliable energy prices; and be it
11further
 
12    RESOLVED, That we urge the U.S. to undertake a sustained
13and enduring federal research and development effort, in
14partnership with private industry, universities, and national
15laboratories to evaluate technologies and practices to
16minimize the impact of the development of these underutilized
17fuels on the land and water resources of the United States,
18while also evaluating technologies and practices to reduce the
19energy intensity and carbon footprint of these fuel sources;
20and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
22delivered to the President of the United States, the United
23States Secretary of the Interior, the United States Secretary

 

 

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1of Transportation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
2and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.