Op-ed: America Is in Uncharted Waters Without Final Offshore Leasing Program

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed by the author are their own.

Heading into the Independence Day weekend, our nation passed two energy markers. First, June 30 marked the day upon which the 2017-2022 offshore oil and gas leasing program expired, putting an abrupt halt on U.S. offshore lease sales. Second, a day later, the Biden administration released the proposed program for the next program for offshore oil and gas leasing, projected to cover the 2023-2028 timeline and creating a striking gap in offshore lease sales. American energy policy is now in uncharted waters without a leasing program, and Americans will be worse off without the timely resumption of region-wide lease sales.

The proposed program is only the second of three lengthy steps required in the development of a new offshore oil and gas leasing program; Gulf of Mexico lease sales cannot resume without a final program absent legislative action from Congress. This is the first time that an administration has failed to publish a final—not merely a proposed—offshore leasing program before the expiration of the previous program.

Prior to this point, every administration—Republican and Democrat—has fulfilled its legal obligation to maintain a leasing program and hold lease sales. Every administration has recognized the critical strategic advantages of an uninterrupted U.S. oil and gas leasing program.