Page 111: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1994)

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE (Continued) mittee of the House Merchant Ma- rine and Fisheries Committee held a markup for HR 4959, the Coast

Guard Regulatory Reform Act of 1994. The bill is designed to reduce the economic burden on U.S.-flagged merchant vessels by streamlining certain regulatory requirements, expanding the delegation of the per- formance of marine safety functions to third parties, and broadening the marine safety authority of the U.S.

Coast Guard (USCG). Bill sponsor and subcommittee chairman Billy

Tauzin offered a substitute amend- ment that would allow the Coast

Guard to audit a shipowning company's overall safety and qual- ity management programs instead of relying on traditional vessel in- spection programs.

The amendment, passed by voice vote, would also allow the USCG to rely on the reports of qualified third parties to determine if a vessel has complied with USCG regulations, and would allow U.S.-flag vessels to use equipment and materials made in other countries if the design and testing procedures meet certain in- ternational requirements.

Amended U.S. Cruise Bill Draws

AWO Opposition

Following the recommendation of the Coastal Sector Committee,

AWO's board of directors unani- mously voted to oppose the Cruise

Vessel Development Act (HR 3821) introduced by Rep. Jolene Unsoeld (D-Wash.).

The legislation would authorize the Secretary of Transportation to permit foreign-flag cruise vessels to re-flag as U.S. vessels and operate in coastwise trade that is not cur- rently being served by a U.S. pas- senger vessel of a similar size. In the bill's original form, the foreign- flag vessel would have been allowed to operate only until a replacement vessel was constructed in a U.S. yard. As amended in the House

Merchant Marine and Fisheries

Committee on Aug. 11, however, the foreign-flag vessel would be al- lowed to remain permanently in the coastwise trade, provided a contract is in place for the domestic construc- tion of an additional vessel of like size.

While the legislation does not technically amend the Jones Act,

AWO said it would clearly change the face of U.S. cabotage laws rela- tive to the U.S.-build requirements.

In its opposition, the AWO board re- emphasized that it must serve as a bulwark against encroachment on the nation's cabotage laws.

BP Update On Oil Operations

BP Exploration confirmed it has discovered two large gas fields in the Nam Con Son basin, offshore south Vietnam. Current indica- tions are that the finds, in block 6, have combined recoverable reserves with a mid-range estimate of two trillion cu.-ft.

BP — which has 30 percent stake in block 6 — and its partners Statoil (15 percent) and ONGC (55 per- cent), are working closely with the

Vietnamese government to secure early development. Petrovietnam has an option to acquire five per- cent equity from the BP and Statoil interests. Current plans are to pipe the gas ashore and then onto the area of Ho Chi Minh City. BP is also proceeding with exploration in blocks 5/2 and 5/3 where it is again targeting gas.

BP Managing Director John

Browne also confirmed that a well on block 34/11, offshore Norway, had encountered a significant accu- mulation of gas and is currently drilling to reach a deeper target.

BP has a 15 percent stake in the license.

The rise will come partly from the established provinces of Alaska and the North Sea where improved recovery rates and a string of new fields — including small satellites made economic by the proximity of existing infrastructure — will con bine to keep output at its currei level of more than one million ba rels a day for at least the next 1 years. This includes output froi other existing areas such as Ab

Dhabi and Australia.

In Alaska, despite the continuin decline of the giant Prudhoe Ba field, BP's overall output of 580,00 barrels a day will edge down by a average of only around three pei cent a year over the next three year — a result of steady production fror

Endicott and Kuparuk and growin output from Point Mclntyre an

Niakuk, and Milne Point where pre duction will climb from 20,000 bai rels a day at present to more thai 50,000 barrels a day by 1996.

In the North Sea, where BP cur rently produces 500,000 barrels o oil a day and 900 million cu.-ft. o gas, output is projected to grow b; two percent a year over the nex three years as the Harding and An drew fields come on stream.

BP expects to have first produc tion by end-1998 from ETAP, eigh small fields linked to a single plat form, with reserves of 400 millior barrels of oil and 1.2 trillion cu.-ft. oi gas, in which it has a 50 percenl stake. Capacity will be 185,000 bar- rels a day and 450 million cu.-ft. oi gas.

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