Biden resuming drilling leases despite climate goals

By Al Mayadeen Net
Source: Agencies
18 Apr 2022 17:07
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Higher royalties, but more drilling.

Illustrative photograph of drilling oil on land

With tight energy markets and a planet warming up really fast, Biden's leasing policy feels the heat in the White House.

Last Friday afternoon, the Department of Interior will go back to selling oil and gas leases on federal lands but also increase company fees depending on what they produce, according to the department.

The agency will be publishing notices this week for the first onshore lease sales since Biden took a decision to halt the program after assuming office. His administration offered 144,000 acres.

The department made a promise that the decision is "not business as usual," explaining that the acreage put down on the table is only one-fifth of the number of companies aimed to auction.

This "pragmatic approach focuses leasing on parcels near existing development and infrastructure," the Interior Department said, adding it will "help conserve the resilience of intact public lands and functioning ecosystems."

Royalties have risen from 12.5% to 18.75% to "ensure fair return for the American taxpayer."

Many environmental groups have criticized this decision, while some Democrat-aligned groups held their fire. The White House's climate advisor yesterday announced her plan to resign due to the "slow pace of climate progress."

"Candidate Biden promised to end new oil and gas leasing on public lands, but President Biden is prioritizing oil executive profits over future generations," said Nicole Ghio of Friends of the Earth.

Another group, Evergreen Action, contended that although the acreage reduction looks "encouraging", the leasing is contradictory to the US' climate goals.

Industry groups, in parallel, have both praised and criticized the decision.

For instance, the American Petroleum Institute expressed delight in seeing the government leasing again, but "we are concerned that this action adds new barriers to increasing energy production, including removing some of the most significant parcels."

"At a time of high energy costs, these changes to long-standing fair and reasonable lease terms may further discourage oil and natural gas investment on federal lands."

Last month, Biden announced that Washington would no longer import Russian oil and gas and billed the high gas prices as the Putin Price Hike. Eberhart, however, said the gas prices were soaring well before the war in Ukraine began in late February.