II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1312 

To modernize Federal policies regarding the supply and distribution of energy 

in the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2015 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. BARRASSO, 

Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. CORKER, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. RISCH, Mr. FLAKE, 

Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. LANKFORD) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To modernize Federal policies regarding the supply and distribution of energy in the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Energy Supply and 

5 Distribution Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to adopt certain recommendations of the 

2 Quadrennial Energy Review of 2015; 

3 (2) to enhance the integration of energy mar4 kets; 

5 (3) to improve the collection of energy data and 

6 analysis; and 

7 (4) to promote the production and distribution 

8 of energy in the United States. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (a) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Administrator’’ 

12 means the Administrator of the Energy Information Ad13 ministration. 

14 (b) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

15 Secretary of Energy. 

16 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO DOMESTIC EN17 ERGY. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that the production and 

19 distribution of energy in the United States requires access 

20 to infrastructure and markets. 

21 SEC. 5. ENERGY SECURITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary— 

23 (1) shall collaborate with the heads of other 

24 Federal agencies to improve the conceptual develop25 ment of energy security; and 


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1 (2) may consult with allies and key trading 

2 partners of the United States with respect to energy 

3 security issues resulting from changes in the energy 

4 marketplace. 

5 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—At a minimum, the Secretary 

6 shall ensure that, as part of the collaboration required 

7 under subsection (a)(1), the following are considered: 

8 (1) The development of flexible, transparent, 

9 and competitive energy markets, including natural 

10 gas and oil markets 

11 (2) The diversification of energy fuels, sources, 

12 and routes. 

13 (3) The encouragement of indigenous sources of 

14 energy supply. 

15 SEC. 6. SHARED INFRASTRUCTURE. 

16 The Secretary shall lead an interagency effort to im17 prove and coordinate data collection and analytical and 

18 modeling capabilities for energy distribution on shared en19 ergy infrastructure. 

20 SEC. 7. ENERGY MARKET INTEGRATION. 

21 The Secretary shall coordinate the training of, and 

22 enhanced dialogue among, technical staff in applicable 

23 Federal agencies that are responsible for evaluating and 

24 implementing cross-border energy projects. 


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1 SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO HYDROCARBON 

2 PRODUCTION. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that, as stated in the An4 nual Energy Outlook of 2015 of the Energy Information 

5 Administration, growth in crude oil and dry natural gas 

6 production varies significantly across oil and natural gas 

7 supply regions— 

8 (1) forcing shifts in crude oil and natural gas 

9 flows between regions of the United States; and 

10 (2) requiring investment in or realignment of 

11 pipelines and other midstream infrastructure. 

12 SEC. 9. ENERGY DATA COLLABORATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall collabo14 rate with the appropriate officials in Canada and Mexico, 

15 as determined by the Administrator, to improve— 

16 (1) the quality and transparency of North 

17 American energy data through reconciliation of data 

18 on energy trade flows among the United States, 

19 Canada, and Mexico; 

20 (2) the extension of energy mapping capabilities 

21 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; and 

22 (3) the development of common energy data 

23 terminology among the United States, Canada, and 

24 Mexico. 

25 (b) PERIODIC UPDATES.—The Administrator shall 

26 periodically inform the Committee on Energy and Natural 


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1 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

2 and Commerce of the House of Representatives regard3 ing— 

4 (1) the extent to which energy data is being 

5 shared under subsection (a); and 

6 (2) whether forward-looking projections for re7 gional energy flows are improving in accuracy as a 

8 result of the energy data sharing under that sub9 section. 

10 SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO PROCESSED 

11 CONDENSATE. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that processed condensate 

13 is a petroleum product. 

14 SEC. 11. DEVELOPMENT OF DEFINITION OF CONDENSATE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

16 (1) develop a standard definition of the term 

17 ‘‘condensate’’; and 

18 (2) advise relevant Federal agencies to adopt 

19 that definition for the purpose of clarifying energy 

20 policy in the United States. 

21 (b) OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY ASSESSMENT.—The 

22 Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy may assess the suit23 ability of condensate separately from crude oil for use in 

24 strategic reserves, as determined necessary by the Sec25 retary. 


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1 (c) ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION DATA

2 COLLECTION.—The Administrator may collect data re3 garding condensate and crude oil production in the United 

4 States. 

5 SEC. 12. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR ASSESSMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

7 direct the appropriate agencies within the Department of 

8 the Interior to assess condensate separately from crude 

9 oil, in accordance with this section. 

10 (b) OFFICE OF NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE.— 

11 The Director of the Office of Natural Resources Revenue 

12 may collect data regarding condensate separately from 

13 crude oil produced in the United States. 

14 (c) BUREAU OF OCEAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT.— 

15 The Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

16 may estimate condensate separately from crude oil as part 

17 of the resource assessments regarding geological forma18 tions in the United States. 

19 (d) UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.—The Di20 rector of the United States Geological Survey may include 

21 estimates of condensate separately from crude oil as part 

22 of the resource assessments regarding geological forma23 tions in the United States. 


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1 SEC. 13. ACCESS TO MARKETS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, to promote the efficient exploration, produc4 tion, storage, supply, and distribution of energy resources, 

5 any domestic crude oil or condensate (other than crude 

6 oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) may be ex7 ported without a Federal license to countries not subject 

8 to sanctions by the United States. 

9 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section limits 

10 the authority of the President under the Constitution, the 

11 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the National Emergencies Act (50 

13 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), or part B of title II of the Energy 

14 Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6271 et seq.) to 

15 prohibit exports. 

Æ 


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