BOEM: To Resume Federal Oil Leasing Program
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)'s office says that the federal oil and gas leasing program will resume after a court ruling overturned the Biden administration's suspensions.
A US marine regulator said that efforts to resume the federal oil and gas leasing program are underway after a court ruling overturned the Biden administration's decision to suspend the program.
“Based on the court order, we are now moving forward toward leasing,” Walter Cruikshank, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), said during a marine technology conference. “It won't be long before we see something,” he said.
Days ago, the Biden administration appealed the court's decision, but said that it would "proceed with the leases while the appeal takes its course in the courts."
It is worth noting that the administration had suspended the program last January as part of its efforts to combat the effects of climate change.
The oil and gas sector opposes rent suspensions, and energy trade groups have joined officials of US Gulf Coast States in seeking to rescind the suspension imposed by the Biden administration.
Cruikshank also said that "the Office of BOEM and the Office of Safety and Environmental Enforcement are finalizing new rules that require marine producers and all previous owners of assets to be responsible for plugging wells and removing platforms and pipelines."
This issue has emerged amid the sharp decline in energy prices during the past year, which led to bankruptcies in the marine oil sector.