374 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



In conclusion, we would add that the provisions of the various bills 

 regarding the administration of oceanographic matters, be it by a 

 Cabinet-level department, Federal council or commission, is a matter 

 which can best be decided by the Congress and has not been specifically 

 studied by us. 



We do appreciate the opportunity to have appeared here before you, 

 Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Lennon. Mr. Clark, we are delighted to have your statement 

 and, of course, it will be included in the record in its entirety. 



(Mr. Clark's statement follows :) 



Statement of Durland E. Clark, Jr., on Behalf of the Western Oil & Gas 

 Association and the American Petroleum Institute 



Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, my name is Durland E. 

 Clarlc, Jr., and I am appearing today on behalf of the Western Oil & Gas Associa- 

 tion and the American Petroleum Institute. The Western Oil «&; Gas Association 

 is a trade association whose members produce, refine, and market more than 

 90 percent of the crude oil and associated hydrocarbon products in the six 

 Western States of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, and Ai'izona. 

 The American Petroleum Institute is a nationwide trade association represent- 

 ing all sections of the petroleum industry. 



We appreciate the invitation of your chairman for interested parties to appear 

 at these hearings, and trust that our comments will be helpful. AA'^e have been 

 aware of the growing attention being i^aid to the subject of oceanography. It 

 was with great interest, therefore, that we examined the several bills before you 

 on this subject. 



In the interest of brevity, we will not attempt at this time to offer specific 

 comment on each of the many bills under consideration. Instead, we will make 

 an observation and recommendation on a provision common to> many of these 

 bills. We refer to the various sections providing for Federal participation in the 

 exploration for, and economic development of, physical resources of the Con- 

 tinental Shelf, either directly or through grants to private industry. We are 

 ojiposed to this concept and believe that its retention in any legislation reported 

 by your committee could ultimately put various agencies of the Fedei-al Govern- 

 ment in the offshore oil business as a direct competitor with private enterprise 

 unless the petroleum industry is excluded. 



Using H.R. 7849 as an example, we would like you to note the relatively minor 

 language changes needed to exclude the offshore petroleum industry from this 

 bill's provisions. This language is shown in the addendum attached to this 

 statement. 



If these or similar changes are not made in H.R. 7849 and other bills before 

 you, we believe that the unintended result will be detrimental to the continued 

 activities of the American petroleum industry on the Continental Shelf. 



We are, of course, referring to the vast offshore explorations carried on by 

 the petroleum industry not only on the Gulf and Pacific coasts of the United 

 States, but in the Great Lakes and in Alaskan waters. These activities encompass 

 exploration, development drilling and extensive production facilities necessary 

 to bring oil and gas production onshore. Last year 153 million barrels of oil 

 were produced from these offshore areas. This production generated $361 million 

 of new wealth. This activity, with its attendant risks, has been conducted by 

 private capital and the estimated investment in State and Federal submerged 

 lands is in excess of $3.5 billion. In addition, more than $2.50 million has been 

 spent on pure research of an oceanographic nature, such as wave studies, meteoro- 

 logical studies and equipment research and development. 



As a direct consequence, the United States alone in the last decade has received 

 $1.2 billion from lease mineral bonuses on Outer Continental Shelf offerings, 

 $14 million in rentals, and an estimated $16 million a year in royalties. Sums 

 paid to individual State governments would, of course, be in addition to this 

 figure. For example, the State of Louisiana has received in excess of $700 

 million from industry offshore operations. 



The offshore oil and gas activity of the petroleum industry is unique in the 

 sense that of man's historic uses of the sea, this is 1)y far the most recent and 

 complex, being measured timewise only in decades and is exceeded by no other 

 industry in terms of the amount of capital required to conduct its operations. 



