U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said on June 16 her department was reviewing a federal court’s decision that it must resume auctioning oil and gas leases on federal acreage but did not say when those auctions might restart.
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden had suspended drilling lease auctions in January to review the program’s environmental costs, a move widely seen as a first step to delivering on Biden’s campaign promise to end new federal drilling to fight climate change.
But a federal judge in Louisiana on June 15 ordered an end to the pause after Louisiana and 12 other states that support drilling on federal lands sued, arguing the suspension was against the law and would cause economic damage and kill jobs.
“Our department is reviewing the judge’s opinion as we speak and consulting with the Justice Department,” said Haaland, who was testifying before a Senate subcommittee about the Interior Department’s budget.
“We will respect the judge’s decision. Any other information will be forthcoming,” she said.
The top Republican on the committee, Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, told Haaland in her opening remarks she wanted to hear the secretary's “plans to resume implementation of those lease sales.”
Haaland did not offer any details on the potential timing of a resumption.
Around a quarter of the nation’s oil and gas is produced from federal lands and waters.
Haaland reiterated that her department is still planning to release a comprehensive review of the country’s oil and gas leasing program by late summer and did not say whether the court ruling would delay the report.
White House climate change adviser Gina McCarthy on June 16 said on Twitter that the review is long overdue since companies pay low royalty rates for federal oil leases.
“The decades-old rules governing @Interior’s oil and gas program fail to secure value for taxpayers, protect our communities and workers, or account for the changing climate. This is simply unsustainable,” she wrote.
Recommended Reading
Supply Disruptions Ahead as Canadian Rail Workers Vote for Strike
2024-05-01 - The union, representing more than 9,000 employees at Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, announced that 95% of its members approved of a strike, which could happen as early as May 22.
Vision RNG Expands Leadership Team
2024-05-01 - Vision RNG named Adam Beck as vice president of project execution, Doug Prechter as vice president of finance and Beckie Dille as HR manager.
OGInterview: Building EIV Capital’s Midstream Investment Strategy
2024-05-01 - Midstream-focused EIV Capital has added non-operated assets and transition projects to its portfolio as a sign of the times.
NOG Lenders Expand Revolving Credit Facility to $1.5B
2024-04-30 - Northern Oil and Gas’ semi-annual borrowing-base redetermination left its reserved-based lending unchanged at $1.8 billion.
Imperial Oil Names Exxon’s Gomez-Smith as Upstream Senior VP
2024-04-30 - Cheryl Gomez-Smith, currently director of safety and risk at Exxon Mobil’s global operations and sustainability business, will join Imperial Oil in May.