by Tyler Durden at ZeroHedge
The Biden administration has canceled one of the most high-profile oil and gas lease sales which was pending before the Department of the Interior, at a time when Americans are suffering from record-high prices at the pump.
The DOI’s reasoning? A “lack of industry interest in leasing in the area” of more than 1 million acres in the Cook Inlet in Alaska. What’s more, the department also halted two leases under consideration in the Gulf of Mexico due to “conflicting court rulings that impacted work on these proposed lease sales,” according to CBS News.
“The Department also will not move forward with lease sales 259 and 261 in the Gulf of Mexico region, as a result of delays due to factors including conflicting court rulings that impacted work on these proposed lease sales,” said an agency spokesperson.
Federal law requires DOI to stick to a five-year leasing plan for auctioning offshore leases. The department had until the end fo the current five-year plan – due to expire on June 30 – to complete the sales.
Within his first week in office, President Biden signed an executive order temporarily suspending new oil and gas leases on federal lands. The administration resumed the new leasing last month following court challenges against the ban. The administration is appealing a ruling in which Judge James Cain, a Trump appointee, struck down the ban. –Fox Business
In Wednesday remarks to Fox Business, former Trump-Pence EPA transition member Steve Milloy traced the lease cancellations to Biden.
“In Alaska…
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