I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9472 

To enhance national security and energy independence through comprehensive 

offshore energy resource assessment and mapping, to establish a framework for the regular review and standardization of offshore resource 

exploration methodologies, to streamline the permitting process for offshore geological and geophysical surveys, and to provide for related 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024 

Mr. HUNT (for himself and Mr. NEHLS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 

the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Armed Services, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To enhance national security and energy independence 

through comprehensive offshore energy resource assessment and mapping, to establish a framework for the 

regular review and standardization of offshore resource 

exploration methodologies, to streamline the permitting 

process for offshore geological and geophysical surveys, 

and to provide for related purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Comprehensive Off3 shore Resource Enhancement Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘CORE 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. SECURITY ASSESSMENT OF OFFSHORE ENERGY RE6 SOURCE RESERVES. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

9 means the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the 

10 Interior, and the Secretary of Defense. 

11 (2) UNDISCOVERED RESOURCE.—The term 

12 ‘‘undiscovered resource’’ means an oil and gas re13 source postulated, on the basis of geologic knowledge 

14 or theory, to exist outside of known fields or accu15 mulations. 

16 (b) RESOURCE SECURITY ASSESSMENT COLLABORA17 TION PROGRAM.—To enhance United States national se18 curity and energy independence, the Secretaries shall es19 tablish a joint program (referred to in this section as the 

20 ‘‘program’’) for offshore geophysical and geological re21 source mapping and analysis of domestic resources critical 

22 to national security. 

23 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to en24 sure adequate intelligence on the supply and security of 

25 offshore energy resources of reliance to the domestic popu26 lation and allied nations, including natural gas, petroleum 


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1 (including crude oil and petroleum products), and critical 

2 minerals. 

3 (d) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.—In 

4 carrying out the program, the Secretaries may enter into 

5 1 or more agreements directly with a third party under 

6 such terms and conditions as the Secretaries determine 

7 appropriate. 

8 (e) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit a 

10 one-time report to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

11 Resources and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

12 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the 

13 Committee on Natural Resources, and the Committee on 

14 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that in15 cludes the following: 

16 (1) An assessment of the approximate quantity 

17 of undiscovered resources in each offshore regional 

18 planning area as defined by the 2024–2029 National 

19 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Pro20 posed Final Program of September 29, 2023. In car21 rying out such assessment, the Secretaries shall— 

22 (A) prioritize the acquisition and use of 

23 advanced geophysical and geotechnical data and 

24 methods; 


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1 (B) acquire and apply new and emerging 

2 modeling and analytic technologies, including 

3 data analysis tools, quantum computing, mod4 eling, and geographic information systems, to 

5 approximate the quantity and establish a peer6 reviewed range of undiscovered resources in 

7 each regional planning area with a discussion of 

8 the upper and lower bound of the estimates 

9 with that discussion to include recommenda10 tions as to how to reduce the range of uncer11 tainty; and 

12 (C) utilize any existing maritime vessels or 

13 deployed capability, including any geoseismic, 

14 sonar, or related mapping technologies. 

15 (2) An assessment of how the unavailability for 

16 leasing of any lands that are withdrawn under sec17 tion 12 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

18 (43 U.S.C. 1341) or part of the National Marine 

19 Sanctuary System established by section 301(c) of 

20 the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 

21 1431(c)) affects— 

22 (A) the exploration, development, and pro23 duction of oil and gas; 

24 (B) national security, including the Na25 tion’s ability to supply the Armed Forces, its alVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Sep 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9472.IH H9472

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1 lies, and trade partners with petroleum prod2 ucts and related fuels; 

3 (C) domestic jobs and employment; 

4 (D) the amount of revenue States and 

5 coastal political subdivisions receive pursuant to 

6 section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Secu7 rity Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note); and 

8 (E) the ability of the Secretary of Energy 

9 to acquire and exchange petroleum products for 

10 storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

11 (3) An assessment of undiscovered subsea re12 sources, materials, and anomalies that could be uti13 lized by commercial or in national security oper14 ations, including stone, sand, gravel, marine min15 erals, or offshore critical minerals. 

16 (f) STANDARDIZATION OF EXISTING REPORTS.—Sec17 tion 357 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

18 15912) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘of Mexico 

20 and Canada’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub22 section (c); 

23 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(b) INCLUSIONS.—The inventory and analysis con2 ducted under subsection (a) shall include the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) An assessment of the approximate quan4 tity of undiscovered resources in each regional plan5 ning area as defined by the 2024–2029 National 

6 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Pro7 posed Final Program of September 29, 2023, which 

8 shall include the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) A detailed analysis of how the future 

10 production of these undiscovered resources 

11 could influence the United States capacity to 

12 competitively produce, market, and export hy13 drocarbons on a global scale. This assessment 

14 should consider key market variables such as 

15 global supply and demand dynamics, projected 

16 price points, geopolitical factors, and the role of 

17 United States production in maintaining global 

18 energy security. 

19 ‘‘(B) An economic analysis of how the de20 velopment and production of these undiscovered 

21 resources would affect domestic employment 

22 across the supply chain. This should include di23 rect, indirect, and induced job impacts, empha24 sizing the potential for job creation in exploVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Sep 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9472.IH H9472

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1 ration, production, refining, logistics, and asso2 ciated industries. 

3 ‘‘(C) To the fullest extent practicable, a 

4 comparative analysis of offshore oil and gas ex5 ploration and development practices for each 

6 major offshore producing country shall be con7 ducted within 10 years of the passage of the 

8 CORE Act and once every 10 years thereafter. 

9 This analysis shall provide the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) Data on the number of offshore 

11 acres offered for lease, including the fre12 quency of lease auctions, sales, or lease 

13 issuances. This should encompass lease 

14 structures, fiscal terms, and competitive 

15 positioning relative to United States leas16 ing practices. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Detailed reporting on the volume 

18 of oil produced, measured in barrels on an 

19 annual basis, including historical trends, 

20 production forecasts, and the influence of 

21 technological advancements on production 

22 efficiency and recovery rates. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Detailed reporting on the vol24 ume of gas produced, measured in cubic 

25 feet, accounting for regional market deVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:24 Sep 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9472.IH H9472

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1 mands, export capabilities, and contribu2 tions to energy diversification strategies. 

3 ‘‘(iv) An assessment of both undis4 covered and discovered offshore oil and gas 

5 resources, including probabilistic estimates 

6 of resource volumes that consider geologi7 cal, technological, and market factors im8 pacting exploration success and resource 

9 recoverability. 

10 ‘‘(2) An identification and assessment of how 

11 the unavailability for leasing of any lands that are 

12 withdrawn under section 12 of the Outer Conti13 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1341) or part of 

14 the National Marine Sanctuary System established 

15 by section 301(c) of the National Marine Sanc16 tuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431(c)) affects— 

17 ‘‘(A) the exploration, development, and 

18 production of oil and gas; 

19 ‘‘(B) national security, including the Na20 tion’s ability to supply the Armed Forces, its al21 lies, and trade partners with petroleum prod22 ucts and related fuels; 

23 ‘‘(C) domestic jobs and employment; 

24 ‘‘(D) the amount of revenue States and 

25 coastal political subdivisions receive pursuant to 


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1 section 105 of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Secu2 rity Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 1331 note); and 

3 ‘‘(E) the ability of the Secretary of Energy 

4 to acquire and exchange petroleum products for 

5 storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (c), as so redesignated— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall sub8 mit’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than 365 days 

9 after the date of enactment of the CORE Act, 

10 the Secretary shall submit’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘, within 6 months of the 

12 date of enactment of the section’’; and 

13 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(d) UPDATING ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary of the Inte16 rior shall periodically conduct an assessment of the 

17 costs, benefits, and accuracy of the models utilized 

18 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to con19 duct resource assessments. In carrying out such as20 sessment, the Secretary of the Interior shall jointly 

21 consult with Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Re22 sources and Reserves Committee, the National Pe23 troleum Council, and also the United States Associa24 tion for Energy Economics, with respect to recom25 mending new methodologies, if deficiencies these 


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1 groups identified exist in current practices or if po2 tential benefits could be realized from employing new 

3 methods of analysis. The initial assessment shall be 

4 conducted not later than 1 year after the date of en5 actment of the CORE Act, and subsequent assess6 ments not later than every 10 years thereafter. The 

7 National Petroleum Council shall lead joint consulta8 tions with the Secretary of the Interior. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Following each assessment con10 ducted under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the In11 terior shall update the assessment methodologies 

12 used in the comprehensive inventory of U.S. Outer 

13 Continental Shelf Oil and Natural Gas Resources. 

14 The Secretary shall also prepare a report, based on 

15 the timelines in paragraph (1), which shall include 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) A clear, detailed explanation of any 

18 updates made to the assessment methodologies 

19 based on the joint consultations with the Soci20 ety of Petroleum Engineers’ Resources and Re21 serves Committee, the National Petroleum 

22 Council, and the United States Association for 

23 Energy Economics. 


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1 ‘‘(B) An evaluation describing how the up2 dates improve the accuracy, cost-effectiveness, 

3 and reliability of the resource assessments. 

4 ‘‘(C) If any recommended updates are not 

5 incorporated, the report must provide a detailed 

6 explanation of why these updates were not 

7 adopted, including any technical, legal, or prac8 tical constraints that prevented their implemen9 tation.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. OFFSHORE GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL SUR11 VEY LICENSING. 

12 (a) INCIDENTAL TAKE REGULATIONS.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of law, the National Marine 

14 Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmos15 pheric Administration shall maintain incidental take regu16 lations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) governing the issuance of Letters 

18 of Authorization for Outer Continental Shelf geophysical 

19 and geological surveys. These regulations shall not expire, 

20 nor require renewal every 5 years, but be maintained and 

21 updated as necessary through the requirements of sub22 chapter II of chapter 5 and chapter 7 of title 5, United 

23 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Administrative 

24 Procedure Act’’). The regulations governing Outer Conti25 nental Shelf geophysical and geological surveys referenced 


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1 in this subsection (section 217 of title 50, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations), issued by the National Marine Fisheries 

3 Service effective on May 24, 2024, shall not expire on 

4 April 19, 2026. 

5 (b) GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY LI6 CENSING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte8 rior shall authorize geological and geophysical sur9 veys related to oil and gas activities on the Gulf of 

10 Mexico Outer Continental Shelf within 30 days of 

11 receipt of a completed application and shall, as ap12 plicable to survey type, comply with the mitigation 

13 and monitoring measures in subsections (a), (b), (c), 

14 (d), (f), and (g) of section 217.184 of title 50, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on January 1, 

16 2022), and section 217.185 of title 50, Code of Fed17 eral Regulations (as in effect on January 1, 2022). 

18 In issuing permits for these surveys, the Secretary 

19 shall not require an applicant to obtain a letter of 

20 authorization. Any permit authorizing a geological or 

21 geophysical survey shall be extended for a period of 

22 no more than 12 months within 30 days of receipt 

23 of a written request from the permittee. 

24 (2) COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER ACTS.—Geologi25 cal and geophysical surveys authorized pursuant to 


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1 this subsection are deemed to be in full compliance 

2 with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 

3 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the Endangered Spe4 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and im5 plementing regulations. 

6 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW AND ENFORCEMENT.— 

7 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

8 (A) AGENCY DOCUMENT.—The term 

9 ‘‘agency document’’ means, with respect to a 

10 geophysical or geoseismic survey project, a 

11 record of decision, categorical exclusion, envi12 ronmental document, or programmatic environ13 mental document. 

14 (B) NEPA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘categor15 ical exclusion’’, ‘‘environmental document’’, and 

16 ‘‘programmatic environmental document’’ have 

17 the meanings given such terms, respectively, in 

18 section 111 of the National Environmental Pol19 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4336e). 

20 (2) IN GENERAL.—A court shall not enjoin an 

21 offshore oil and gas geophysical or geoseismic survey 

22 project if the court determines that the plaintiff is 

23 unable to demonstrate that the claim of the plaintiff 

24 is likely to succeed on the merits. 


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1 (3) CONSIDERATIONS IN INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.— 

2 While considering any request for an injunction that 

3 applies to any agency action as part of an offshore 

4 oil and gas geophysical or geoseismic survey project, 

5 the court reviewing the agency action shall only con6 sider deficiencies by an agency pursuant to law. The 

7 court may remand the geophysical or geoseismic sur8 vey project to the applicable agency with instruction 

9 to correct (including specific directions) the errors or 

10 deficiencies within 30 days. An activity under the 

11 geophysical or geoseismic survey project may be car12 ried out so long as such activity does not affect the 

13 errors or deficiencies described in this paragraph. 

14 (4) REVIEW.—Unless the court finds that the 

15 applicable agency entirely failed to publish a re16 quired environmental assessment or environmental 

17 impact statement, on remand— 

18 (A) the court shall not require such agency 

19 to prepare a new environmental assessment or 

20 environmental impact statement; and 

21 (B) such agency may use another format, 

22 including a memorandum or errata sheet, to 

23 document any new analysis required. 

24 (5) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding 

25 any other provision of law, a claim arising under 


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1 Federal law seeking judicial review of a geophysical 

2 or geoseismic survey project shall be barred unless— 

3 (A) with respect to an agency document 

4 noticed in the Federal Register, such claim is 

5 filed not later than 120 days after the date of 

6 publication of a notice in the Federal Register 

7 of agency intent to carry out the geophysical or 

8 geoseismic survey project, unless a shorter pe9 riod is specified in such Federal law; 

10 (B) in the case of an agency document not 

11 described in paragraph (3), such claim is filed 

12 not later than 120 days after the date that is 

13 the earlier of— 

14 (i) the date on which such agency doc15 ument is published; and 

16 (ii) the date on which such agency 

17 document is noticed; and 

18 (C) in the case of an authorization or ac19 tion for which there was a public comment pe20 riod, such claim— 

21 (i) is filed by a party that— 

22 (I) participated in the adminis23 trative proceedings regarding such 

24 geophysical or geoseismic survey 

25 project; and 


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1 (II) submitted a comment during 

2 such public comment period and such 

3 comment was sufficiently detailed to 

4 put the applicable agency on notice of 

5 the issue upon which the party seeks 

6 judicial review; and 

7 (ii) is related to such comment. 

8 (6) DISTRICT COURT REVIEW.—A district court 

9 shall have no more than 30 days from the date a pe10 tition is filed to issue a decision under this section. 

11 (7) APPEALS COURT REVIEW.—An appeals 

12 court shall have no more than 30 days to issue a de13 cision on an appeal of a district court’s ruling under 

14 this section. 

15 (d) REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Sec16 retary concerned shall publish online public reports 

17 monthly detailing the number of permit applications re18 ceived, the average processing time of such applications, 

19 and instances of noncompliance beginning 1 calendar year 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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