With offshore oil and gas exploration becoming a hot topic in South Carolina, the House is poised to debate a bill on May 16 that authorizes a study of gas exploration off the state's coast. The bill calls for a committee to study the feasibility of natural gas exploration off the state's coast and to report by Jan. 13. A bill allowing gas exploration, currently banned off the East coast, passed a U.S. House subcommittee last week. Critics who oppose oil and gas exploration off the coast argue that alternative energy and conservation means should be exhausted first. The bill cites proposals in Congress to offer incentives to states to allow gas exploration, saying the fuel is clean and in high demand.