Senators agreed Thursday that expansion of oil and gas drilling off of Florida's coast is a likely scenario as they searched for some common ground on how extensive it should be.

Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, promoted his own bipartisan plan to allow new leases in up to 3.6 million acres that would bring drilling to within 100 miles of the Panhandle. He also said he was pleased with a Bush administration plan to allow drilling in 2 million acres of that area.

Domenici, R-N.M, added that he would work with Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, who has proposed drilling in a smaller area of about 740,000 acres.

High natural gas prices were causing problems for consumers and businesses, Domenici said, so opening up the energy-rich tract called Lease Sale 181 could ease the shortage.

Johnnie Burton, who heads the Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service, said the area holds enough natural gas to heat 6 million homes for 15 years. The small slice of Lease Sale 181 already open for drilling has netted the federal treasury $355 million, he said.

Martinez and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., are pushing for a buffer of 150 miles from Florida's Panhandle. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Fla., is seeking the same in a bill he introduced in the House on Thursday.

But Domenici said such an approach doesn't open enough territory and might not be worth the effort.

Congress is considering other proposals for Gulf drilling, and it will be months before anyone knows if a single plan - or compromise bill - actually emerges.

If no agreement is reached in the House and Senate, the Bush proposal can be enacted through regulations without any congressional approval.

Domenici's bill is expected to come to a vote in March in the committee, where he said he has enough support to pass it.

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