‘Use It or Lose It’ spurs oil companies

At the listening sessions I hold in every county of the state each year Wisconsinites are rightly demanding action to lower the soaring oil prices that are devastating consumers at the pump and sending a rippling effect through our entire economy.           

In the long term, we have to aggressively pursue alternative fuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency to solve the energy crisis. But there are also some things we can do in the short term to help the many Wisconsinites who are struggling to provide for their day-to-day needs because of high gas prices.

For starters, one of the quickest ways to increase oil production is by focusing on lands already under lease by oil companies. Oil companies collectively are not producing on about three-quarters of the federal lands and waters they have under lease. That’s 68 million acres of lands and water that could potentially be producing oil, where leases have already been issued and miles and miles of pipeline and other infrastructure are already in place. To help spur oil development on these lands, I introduced “use it or lose it” legislation requiring oil companies to show they are either producing oil or gas on current leases, or making progress on exploring and developing those leases, before they obtain more federal leases.