WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2022) The Biden administration is planning to resume onshore oil and gas lease sales on public lands following a suspension period that began in January of 2021, the US Interior Department said in a press release.
"Today the Department (of Interior) announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will post notices for significantly reformed onshore lease sales," the release said on Friday. "On Monday, the BLM will issue final environmental assessments and sale notices for upcoming oil and gas lease sales."
The new lease sales will include ensuring tribal consultation and broad community input, as well as a first-ever increase in the royalty rate to 18.75%, the release said.
The BLM is considering to lease acreage in Alabama, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, the release also said.
The Biden administration's move comes in spite of the fact that, according to the very Interior Department, the United States faces an urgent need to undercut greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate transition to a clean energy economy.
This announcement has already received some criticism from environmental organizations. Thus, The Center for Biological Diversity argues that the resumption of lease sales for oil and gas is a direct violation of the promises made by President Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential race.
"The Bureau of Land Management announced today that it will resume oil and gas leasing on public lands, violating President Biden's campaign promise to end new oil and gas leasing and locking in new extraction that thwarts his pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," the Center for Biological Diversity said.
The environmental organization believes that the Biden administration approved more drilling permits in 2021 than former US president Donald Trump did in the first year of his presidency.
Meanwhile, according to NBC, industry experts estimated it would 6-12 months before new drilling on Federal land would produce enough to bring down gas prices.
