Link: Trivia question: How much prison time has fmr Rep. Wm Jefferson (D-LA) served so far? #rsrh

Hint: Think in terms of a round number. A very round number.

Link: Special election results: Louisiana Senate has first R majority since Reconstruction. #rsrh

Let’s see; for Republicans, it’s Governor, Lt. Gov., Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner, the House, the Senate, and six of the seven U.S. Congressmen, plus Sen. David Vitter.

Dems: Sen. Mary Landrieu and Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-N.O.)

What do you have planned for 2014, Mary?

House votes to defund IPCC. #rsrh http://amplify.com/u/bqy52

Link: House votes to defund IPCC. #rsrh

Sounds like the U.S. Government needs to hire some competent lawyers.

Lucrative Gulf of Mexico drilling loophole survives challenge in U.S. House

On a mostly party-line vote, The House Friday night rejected a Democratic amendment that would have corrected a 1995 mistake in drilling rules [sic] that allowed oil and gas companies to drill in portions of the Gulf of Mexico without paying royalties.

The amendment would have saved $1.5 billion in 2011, and $53 billion over the next 25 years, according to the measure’s Democratic sponsors. The windfall is a result of a mistake made by the Clinton administration’s oil and gas regulators in 1995, which Congress has been unwilling to change, despite several attempts over the 16 years.

I hate to nit-pick, but the mistake was not made in “drilling rules”, but in the oil and gas lease form that was written by by government attorneys, subject to competitive bid in two lease sales back in the 1990s.

Here’s what happened: back in the ’90s, oil prices were too low to justify oil exploration in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. To encourage oil companies to bid on the leases, and the winners subsequently to explore them, the U.S. Government as landowner proposed to waive the (then) 12.5% royalty on certain deepwater leases. The 0% royalty was supposed to revert to 12.5% if oil prices ever exceeded $35 per barrel.

But the section of the lease that addressed the $35 price cap was inadvertently left out of the contract. Ooops.

The leases were subject to competitive bid.

Years passed, and several of the leases were drilled, resulting in a number of discoveries. When the price of oil later climbed past $35, the mistake became apparent.

The (then) Minerals Management Service asked companies to honor the “spirit” of the royalty relief. Some companies complied and paid the royalty per the intent. Some said no.

Congress has huffed and puffed, but has so far been unable to compel the cooperation of the latter group.

I’m no lawyer, but my impression is that in real estate matters, the contract (in this case, the oil and gas lease) is the entirety of the agreement between the parties. In this matter, the courts have ruled favor of the oil companies.

What do you think would have happened if the mistake in a contract happened to favor the Government? Is there any chance that the Government would roll?

Cross-posted at RedState.com.

Mr. Maley @HumanEvents: Obama’s Big Energy Tax Mistake. #rsrh #NAPE http://amplify.com/u/bqpr3

Link: Mr. Maley @HumanEvents: Obama’s Big Energy Tax Mistake. #rsrh #NAPE

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in New Orleans on Thursday ordered the Obama administration to move quickly on permits for new deepwater oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, saying that the government could no longer justify long delays in allowing new projects to go forward. …

“Not acting at all is not a lawful option,” Judge Feldman wrote, adding that the delays are “increasingly inexcusable” and were causing drilling companies to relocate their rigs to foreign waters.

Not only that, Judge Feldman has ordered the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) to act on five pending permits within 30 days, and to report on its progress to the court. Those permits have been pending for as much as 10 months.

Something tells me Judge Feldman is not amused.

The industry trade group which represents the offshore supply boat industry issued the following statement:

“It’s déjà vu all over again: A federal judge has ordered the Obama administration to follow the rule of law, do its job and start acting on applications for drilling permits in the Gulf,” said Jim Adams, president and CEO of the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA).

“For nearly a year, the Obama administration has not approved a single deepwater drilling permit in the Gulf,” Adams said. “This de facto moratorium on oil exploration is unreasonable, unwarranted, unfair and unlawful. It’s a self-inflicted energy crisis for America—killing jobs, raising gas prices, and making us more dependent on foreign oil.”

Just two weeks ago, Judge Feldman found the Interior Department to be in contempt over its flouting of his rulings relative to the Deepwater Drilling Moratorium.

“Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the reimposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this Court with clear and convincing evidence of the government’s contempt of this Court’s preliminary injunction order,” Feldman wrote in his eight-page order.

Cross-posted at RedState.com.

Good morning, Houston. Ready to get your #NAPE on?

Rep. Boustany (R-LA7) Grills Geithner On Obama Budget, Attacks On Energy http://bit.ly/eR7wlL #rsrh