The Department of the Interior Tuesday announced nearly $249 million in Fiscal Year 2020 energy revenues to the four offshore Gulf oil and gas producing states. Those states are Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The funds, disbursed annually based on oil and gas production revenue, are used to support coastal conservation and restoration projects, hurricane protection programs, and activities to implement marine and coastal resilience.
The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 created a revenue-sharing model for oil and gas-producing Gulf states to receive a portion of the revenue generated from oil and gas production offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. The act also directs a portion of revenue to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The announcement represents the second-largest disbursement since the department first began paying revenues to states in 2009. Since enacted, Interior has disbursed over $1 billion to the coastal states to further conservation efforts of critical coastal wildlife habitats.
