Oil and gas leasing in the United States will soon restart, after a federal court mandated it; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced this Wednesday during the afternoon sessions of the Offshore Technology Conference.
Firstly, as we reported previously, efforts from the U.S. government to restore federal leasing for oil and gas projects began since January; when a federal court stopped Biden’s intents to ban all new leasing.
Secondly, after the court decision this Wednesday, the Biden administration tried to challenge the court decision, arguing that the current leasing program does not considers the climate change impacts of it; however, the U.S. government will proceed with the leasing.
Thirdly, Walter Cruickshank, deputy director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said during the OTC panel. “Based on the court order, we are now moving ahead with leasing. It will not be too long before you see something.”
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Oil and gas companies with new rules for leasing
Moreover, from the beginning, the oil and gas industry opposed the ban; in fact, Wyoming and other states published a paper in which they analyzed the possible down turns of ending the leasing program; the study found that many states in the nation would have severe financial troubles; as they rely very heavily on the oil and gas income.
In addition, energy trade groups and other institutions such as the American Petroleum Institute, joined the U.S. Gulf Coast and western states in seeking to overturn the Biden moratorium.
Furthermore, Cruickshank also said the BOEM and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement are finalizing new rules; ones that require offshore producers and all previous owners of assets to be financially liable for plugging wells; and also, removing platforms and pipelines.
Finally, He also added. “Our basic policy is that Americans should not pay for decommissioning; the new rules and changes would protect taxpayers from being charged with it. We want to make sure that companies are financially strong and taxpayers are not loaded with these costs.”
