“For too long, federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the needs of extractive industries over local communities, the natural environment, the impact on our air and water, the needs of tribal nations and, moreover, other uses of our shared public lands,” he said. the Minister of the Interior Deb Haaland. “Today we are beginning to reset how and what we consider to be the best and best use of American resources for the benefit of all present and future generations.
The new leases mark the second major step the Biden administration has taken to open up public land and drilling waters. Late last year, the Home Office proposed up to 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for rent drilling, the biggest sale since 2017. The administration was legally required to withhold this lease after Republican attorneys general from 13 states they successfully lifted the suspension of sales that Mr Biden had tried to impose. Environmental activists have criticized the administration, saying leasing sales represent a retreat in Mr Biden’s already stalled climate change program.
“The Biden administration’s claim that it should hold these leases is pure fabrication and a reckless failure of climate leadership,” said Randy Spivak, director of public lands for the Center for Biodiversity. “They seem to ignore the horrors of firestorms, floods and mega-droughts and take climate catastrophes for granted.
But this comes as part of a recent series of steps Mr Biden has taken as he tries to alleviate voters’ concerns about rising petrol prices. This month, he announced the biggest oil spill from the National Strategic Oil Reserve, reached an agreement to increase natural gas exports to Europe, and called on Congress to pass legislation to force oil companies to drill leases.
These moves provoked a cool reaction from the oil industry.
“This is a mixed message and strangely inconsistent,” said Jeff Eschelman, chief operating officer of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, an industrial group. “This administration is asking for more oil from foreign nations, accusing American energy producers of raising prices and leasing. Now, with a late holiday announcement, under pressure, he is announcing a lease sale with a significant increase in royalties, which will add uncertainty to drilling plans for years to come.
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