A congressional plan to drill for oil 10 miles off the coast of Florida would leave the state with some of the risk but none of the profits. Other states along the Gulf of Mexico would receive millions if Congress allows oil companies to drill closer to shore. As Whitney Ray tells us, Florida could net billions by lifting a ban on drilling in state waters, but environmentalists say the profits wouldnt cover the cost of a spill.

The group intends to use a seismic tool that uses satellite technology to pinpoint oil and gas reserves, said M. Lance Phillips, a Texas lawyer who is a principal partner in Florida Energy Associates. He said the investors believe Florida's potential includes ''several major oil fields,'' within the Gulf of Mexico. Phillips of Mexia, Texas, and Dallas lawyer William Lewis Sessions appeared before a House committee considering the issue last week. Phillips owns Oil and Gas Acquisitions, an independent oil and gas exploration company, and is the chairman of the Limestone County Republican Party. Sessions, the son of former FBI Director William Sessions and brother of Texas congressman Pete Sessions, represents oil company clients, as well as the Cherokee Indians of Texas.

Daniels, the Daytona Beach lawyer who formed the corporation, says others helping finance the campaign ``prefer not to have the notoriety.''

''They prefer not to have other people in the oil business know they are looking in Florida,'' Daniels said Saturday.