(2017-0833-F) Deep Water Royalty Relief Act

The materials in 2017-0833-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. The Outer Continental Shelf Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (DWRRA) formally went into effect on November 28, 1995 as Title III of Public Law 104-58. On that date President Clinton signed the bill which implemented a royalty-relief program on eligible producing and non-producing leases located in deep water in the Gulf of Mexico. During the Clinton Adminstration, there was an increase in offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and a corresponding rise in the number of jobs associated with the petroleum industry. In the White House Office of Records Management (WHORM)-Subject File-General there is correspondence from Mack McLarty congratulating Senator Bennett Johnston (D-La.) on his vote in favor of the DWRRA. In addition, there is a letter from Victor G. Beghini, president of Marathon Oil Company, to President Clinton thanking him for his support of Deep Water Royalty Relief as proposed by Senator Johnston. The files of Mark Mazur in the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) contain memoranda, correspondence, handwritten notes, faxes, drafts, and comments. There is a report entitled “National Economic Impacts of an Oil/Gas Production Credit to Stimulate Deep Water Exploration and Development,” prepared by the Washington Counsel (Walter J. Sczudlo) of the Shell Oil Company. Many of the comments deal with the tweaking of the administration position on S. 318—Outer Continental Shelf Deep Water Royalty Relief Act. In the files of Jason Seligman in the CEA, Carolita Kallaur, the head of the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Minerals Management Service (MMS), attempts to answer some of the staffer’s questions and concerns about royalty relief for deep water leases in the Gulf of Mexico. In the files of Elgie Holstein in the National Economic Council (NEC), there is proposed draft testimony from officials at the Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOI in favor of royalty relief for deep water leases in the Gulf of Mexico. In both cases the testimony is scheduled to take place before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the Senate on March 23, 1995. A memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) addressed to Holstein with the subject line of “Derivation of Royalty Relief Numbers” based on MMS assumptions projects eight new drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico costing $1.2 billion each for a total of $9.6 billion. It noted that this investment could lead potentially to the creation of 192,000 new jobs. The memo is dated November 28, 1995, the same day President Clinton signed the DWRRA. The files of Heather Ross in the NEC contain a report entitled “Deep-Water Incentives,” prepared by the MMS. It is extensive and detailed in nature highlighted by a copy of S. 318, a legislative outline for the possible revision of S. 318, and a briefing dealing with deepwater options and analyses. The tables and graphs in this section center around alternative royalty rate policies applied to known fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Electronic records include drafts of response letters related to the DWRRA, staff correspondence concerning meetings and weekly reports that mention the DWRRA, and senate budget reconciliation reports.