would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to require that any lessee operating under an approved exploration plan to obtain a permit before drilling any well in accordance with such plan, and to obtain a new permit before drilling any well of a design significantly different from the design for which an existing permit was issued. In addition, the bill would establish any district court within the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit as the exclusive venue for certain civil actions relating to covered energy projects in the Gulf of Mexico unless there is no proper venue within any Fifth Circuit court.