Louisiana derives a significant portion of its general revenue and an important portion of its economic and employment base from the oil and natural gas sector. However, production from shallow waters of offshore Louisiana (less than 200 meters water depth) has been in decline: -Crude oil production has dropped from over 630,000 barrels per day in 1992 to 380,000 barrels per day in 2003. -Natural gas production has declined from 3.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) per year in 2002 to 2.3 Tcf per year in 2003. -Increases in production from the deep federal waters (greater than 200 meters) have helped offset declines in shallow water production. The Louisiana economy is also highly dependent on a wide variety of industries that depend on offshore oil and gas production. For example, Louisiana is he third largest consumer of natural gas in the U.S., and a large number of chemical industry jobs in Louisiana are highly dependent on the continued availability of adequate volumes of moderately priced natural gas. Moreover, offshore oil and gas production operations support a vast spectrum of other activities in the state, including platform fabrication, drilling and related services, offshore transport and helicopter operations, and gas processing.