OTHER NEWS - Feb. 28, 1996

Independent Producers Decry U.S. Reliance on Foreign Oil: Noting that imports account for half of U.S. energy consumption compared with 35% a decade ago, an energy trade group and oil-state lawmakers called on Congress to help the struggling domestic oil and natural gas industry. The Independent Petroleum Assn. offered a familiar list of goals: regulatory reform, tax breaks and access to off-limits areas with promising reserves. The Clinton administration has lifted the ban on the export of Alaskan North Slope oil and allowed expanded deep-water drilling.