US Rep Miller:BP Ban On New Drilling Licenses To Be In House Bill

21st Jul 2010 23:01

By Corey Boles and Siobhan Hughes Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A top House Democrat expressed confidence Wednesday that a measure that would effectively ban BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) from winning new offshore oil exploration licenses would be included in a bill the House is expected to debate next week. Rep. George Miller (D., Calif.) said he believed the language would be included in legislation that House Democratic leadership is currently pulling together. While Miller is the author of the tough language and would be expected to back the measure, he is also one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D., Calif.) closest allies and a member of the House Democratic leadership team. A spokesman for Pelosi said she shares Miller's concerns about BP's safety record. The measure states that any oil or natural-gas drilling company with a safety record five times worse than the industry average over the previous seven years would be banned from winning new licenses until it has brought its safety record back into line. House aides said that BP would fail to qualify for new licenses on this basis. Once the company's safety record improved, theoretically as soon as within one year, it could begin applying for new exploratory licenses again. Miller, as well as House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D., Calif.), said the plan was to bring forward a comprehensive bill reacting to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico next week, before House lawmakers depart for the August recess. Three committees--Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources and Transportation--last week approved individual bills. The House Democratic leadership has met several times in recent days in an attempt to piece together the bills into a single legislative package. It would include much more onerous safety requirements on drilling companies and an overhaul of the regulatory oversight of the industry, in addition to the language pertaining to companies' safety records. -By Corey Boles and Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 21, 2010 18:01 ET (22:01 GMT)