Joe Biden canceled oil and gas leases on public lands to help the gas crisis. Biden has now decided to restart the leases but don’t take his actions too seriously. The leases are far less than what the Bureau of Land Management evaluated and it increases drilling royalties. Also, the “most significant parcels” will NOT be offered. It’s also, in part, a belated response to a court ruling in 2021.
The Federal government owns roughly one of every three acres in the United States, although that kind of ownership was never the intention of the Founders.
Jen Psaki went off on several WH reporters in March for suggesting the Biden admin should restart sales of oil and gas leases on public lands, repeatedly suggesting the move wouldn’t make a difference. Now the admin is doing exactly that.
What changed? pic.twitter.com/kd7jmq5BsR
— AG🌻 (@AGHamilton29) April 15, 2022
The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced on Friday that it will resume selling oil and gas leases on federal lands. It is in response to a 2021 court ruling, as well as an effort to increase domestic fuel supply during desperate times.
It’s Not Much
The BLM will only offer about 144,000 acres of government land for lease, 80% less than what the agency initially evaluated. It will also increase drilling royalties from 12.5% to 18.75%, the first such increase in decades.
The move complies with a ruling issued by the US District Court for the Southern District of Louisiana in June 2021 that required the government to resume granting leases on federal land.
The announcement brought criticism from the oil industry, which accused Biden of sending mixed messages regarding energy policy. “This administration has begged for more oil from foreign nations, blames American energy producers for price gouging and sitting on leases,” Independent Petroleum Association of America COO Jeffrey Eshelman said in a statement on Friday. “Now, on a late holiday announcement, under pressure, it announces a lease sale with major royalty increases that will add uncertainty to drilling plans for years.”
The executive director of the American Petroleum Institute of Colorado, Lynn Granger, agreed, accusing the Biden administration of “add[ing] new barriers to increasing energy production, including removing some of the most significant parcels.”
-
The Importance of Prayer: How a Christian Gold Company Stands Out by Defending Americans’ Retirement
Communistas (Progressives) are enraged.
Collin Rees, US program manager at Oil Change International, called the decision “an ugly betrayal of Joe Biden’s campaign promises and his administration’s rhetoric on environmental justice and climate action” in a statement issued by climate groups on Friday, while climate and energy program director for WildEarth Guardians Jeremy Nichols accused the administration of “talk[ing] a good talk on climate action” while being “in bed with the oil and gas industry.”
While the exact location of the new leases will not be revealed until they are auctioned by the BLM on Monday, they will be located in nine states: Alabama, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming.
Why does the government own all this land when it’s clear that the Constitution never intended for it to happen?
Half of the West belongs to the federal government, including 48% of California, 69.1% of Alaska, 53.1% of Oregon, 48.1% of Arizona, 42.3% of Wyoming, 41.8% New Mexico, 36.6% of Colorado, 62% of Idaho, 66.5% of Utah, 28.5% Washington state, and 81% of Nevada. Look up your state here.
wpDiscuz
