IIB 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1613 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JULY 8, 2013 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to provide 
for the proper Federal management and oversight of 
transboundary hydrocarbon reservoirs, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Outer Continental 
Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Author-
ization Act’’. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENT TO THE 
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 
LANDS ACT 
SEC. 101. AMENDMENT TO THE OUTER CONTINENTAL 
SHELF LANDS ACT. 
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 32. TRANSBOUNDARY HYDROCARBON AGREEMENTS. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—After the date of enactment 
of the Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydro-
carbon Agreements Authorization Act, the Secretary may 
implement the terms of any transboundary hydrocarbon 
agreement for the management of transboundary hydro-
carbon reservoirs entered into by the President and ap-
proved by Congress. In implementing such an agreement, 
the Secretary shall protect the interests of the United 
States to promote domestic job creation and ensure the 
expeditious and orderly development and conservation of 
domestic mineral resources in accordance with all applica-
ble United States laws governing the exploration, develop-
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ment, and production of hydrocarbon resources on the 
outer Continental Shelf. 
‘‘(b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—No later than 180 days 
after all parties to a transboundary hydrocarbon 
agreement have agreed to its terms, a transboundary 
hydrocarbon agreement that does not constitute a 
treaty in the judgment of the President shall be sub-
mitted by the Secretary to— 
‘‘(A) the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives; 
‘‘(B) the Majority Leader of the Senate; 
‘‘(C) the Chair of the Committee on Nat-
ural Resources of the House of Representatives; 
and 
‘‘(D) the Chair of the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF SUBMISSION.—The submis-
sion shall include— 
‘‘(A) any amendments to this Act or other 
Federal law necessary to implement the agree-
ment; 
‘‘(B) an analysis of the economic impacts 
such an agreement and any amendments neces-
sitated by the agreement will have on domestic 
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exploration, development, and production of hy-
drocarbon resources on the outer Continental 
Shelf; and 
‘‘(C) a detailed description of any regula-
tions expected to be issued by the Secretary to 
implement the agreement. 
‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIFIC TRANSBOUND-
ARY AGREEMENT WITH MEXICO.—The Secretary may 
take actions as necessary to implement the terms of the 
Agreement between the United States of America and the 
United Mexican States Concerning Transboundary Hydro-
carbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico, signed at Los 
Cabos, February 20, 2012, including— 
‘‘(1) approving unitization agreements and re-
lated arrangements for the exploration, development, 
or production of oil and natural gas from trans-
boundary reservoirs or geological structures; 
‘‘(2) making available, in the limited manner 
necessary under the agreement and subject to the 
protections of confidentiality provided by the agree-
ment, information relating to the exploration, devel-
opment, and production of oil and natural gas from 
a transboundary reservoir or geological structure 
that may be considered confidential, privileged, or 
proprietary information under law; 
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‘‘(3) taking actions consistent with an expert 
determination under the agreement; and 
‘‘(4) ensuring only appropriate inspection staff 
at the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforce-
ment or other Federal agency personnel designated 
by the Bureau, the operator, or the lessee have au-
thority to stop work on any installation or other de-
vice or vessel permanently or temporarily attached to 
the seabed of the United States, which may be erect-
ed thereon for the purpose of resource exploration, 
development or production activities as approved by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) EXEMPTION FROM RESOURCES EXTRACTION 
REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Actions taken by a public 
company in accordance with any transboundary hydro-
carbon agreement shall not constitute the commercial de-
velopment of oil, natural gas, or minerals for purposes of 
section 13(q) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (157 
U.S.C. 78m(q)). 
‘‘(e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Nothing in this section 
shall be construed— 
‘‘(1) to authorize the Secretary to participate in 
any negotiations, conferences, or consultations with 
Cuba regarding exploration, development, or produc-
tion of hydrocarbon resources in the Gulf of Mexico 
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along the United States maritime border with Cuba 
or the area known by the Department of the Interior 
as the ‘Eastern Gap’; or 
‘‘(2) as affecting the sovereign rights and the 
jurisdiction that the United States has under inter-
national law over the outer Continental Shelf which 
appertains to it.’’. 
TITLE II—APPROVAL OF TRANS-
BOUNDARY 
HYDROCARBON 
AGREEMENT 
SEC. 201. APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH MEXICO. 
The Agreement between the United States of Amer-
ica and the United Mexican States Concerning Trans-
boundary Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Gulf of Mexico, 
signed at Los Cabos, February 20, 2012, is hereby ap-
proved. 
Passed the House of Representatives June 27, 2013. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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