Evening star., 1951-03-07
Oil and Common Sense

Judging from the hearings recently con-
cluded by the Senate Committee on Interior and
1nsular Affairs, there can be little doubt that
Congress, pending the enactment of permanent
legislation, ought to adopt an interim measure
authorlzlng further development of petroleum
and gas production in the submerged lands of
the continental shelf. The present situation
which has potentially important bearing on
our national defense Efforts completely un-
satisfactory for all parties CONCERNED, including
the operating oil companies, the States and the
Federal Government
The problem grows out of the historic
Supreme Court deciSions-rendered against Cali
tornla in 1947 and against Texas and Louisiana
IN december OF last year-affirming that the
Federal Government has paramount" rights to
the resources of the coastal lands beneath the
marginal seas. Under the decisions the States
and their lessees (the oil companies) have been
enJoined from conducting operations on the con-
tlnental shelf without the approval of the United
states However since certain highly complicated
legal issues still remain to be resolved by the
High Court and Congress, temporary arrange
ments have been worked out to avoid complete
stoppage of production while waiting for final
settlement.
Thus, in the case OF California offshore pro-
duclng operations are being carried out in accord
with Stipulations that will expire in October un-
less renewed and kept in force until there is
agreement on such extremely difficult questions
as where the precise dividing line is located be-
tween the area of paramount" Federal rights
and the inland waters of the States-a question
which Master appointed by the Supreme Court
has been trying to answer for the past three
years. Similarly, in the case of Louisiana and
Texas, the Secretary of the Interior has tenn
porarily authorized continued production on
~ limit hocic fo~
next week unless an extension is granted.
All told, the offshore operations involved in
this situation are now producing about 65 900
barrels OF oil a day, with California accounting
for some $4,000 and Texas and Louisiana for
the remainder. As far as the latter States are
concerned, however, their output from the sub
merged lands will soon come to an end if Con-
greSS fallS to act On the other hand-if given
authorizing legislation-they probably would be
able, within the next three years, to produce ap-
proXlmately ten times as much as they are turn
ing out at present from leases in the Gulf of
Mexico. Accordingly, unless there is favorable
action the Nation will be deprived of additional
petroleum capacity at time when such capacity
Is needed for defense purposes
That is one of the reasons why the Justice
and Interior Departments have recommended in
favor of the interim bill co-authored by Senators
OMahoney and Anderson The bill seeks pri-
marily Cd to encourage the continued develop
ment OF the oil and gas deposits covered by the
State leases and (2) to protect the interests of
both the States and the Federal Government
with stop-gap arrangement that would govern
things like rentals and royalties until the enact
ment of permanent legislation Such legislation
seems so distant at this time that valuable pro-
duction is likely to be lost unless something COM
parable to the O'Mahoney-Anderson measure is
adopted.
The measure, however, has run into strong
opposition, chiefly from coalition of IS Repub-
lcan and Democratic Senators who argue that
1t would tend to become permanent and operate
against the best interests of the States. So they
have introduced legislation of their own to con-
fer upon the States full title to underwater
coastal lands. But their proposal is of such
doubtful wisdom and so similar to the one
the President vetoed in 1949 that it seems
poorly. designed to meet the situation In the
circumstances, if production is to be maintained
and expanded, common sense suggests that Con-
gress should take interim action now