US confirms plan for fewest ever oil & gas lease sales as focus shifts to offshore wind
Department of Interior proposes three Gulf of Mexico fossil lease sales to comply with minimum IRA rules
The US government late Friday confirmed a dramatic phase-down of proposed oil and gas lease sales to a maximum of three in the Gulf of Mexico over five years through 2029, in a move it said will allow it to focus on offshore wind development there and along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
The plan “sets a course” for the Department of Interior (DoI) to support President Joe Biden’s twin national goals of 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050, said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Curtailing oil and gas lease sales to the bare minimum of one every other year from 2025 through 2029 will allow the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – a DoI agency that oversees energy development on the federal outer continental shelf (OCS) – to comply with terms of the 2022 climate law.
The Inflation Reduction Act does not allow BOEM to issue a lease for offshore wind development unless it has made available at least 60 million acres (242.8 million ha) for oil and gas leasing on the OCS in the previous year.
DoI wants to limit leasing to the Gulf of Mexico OCS where there is existing oil and gas production and infrastructure. This area includes the portions of the western, central, and eastern planning areas.
Former President Donald Trump’s administration had proposed 47 oil and gas lease sales off all coastal areas in the US from 2025 through 2029, many of them in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Biden administration claims the Trump proposal presented risks to local coastal economies – particularly for communities along the east and west coast where offshore oil and gas development has not been authorised in decades, if ever.
DoI said Section 18 of the OCS Lands Act authorises the secretary of Interior to establish a schedule of oil and gas lease sales for a five-year period by balancing specific factors of OCS regions and selecting the size, timing, and location of lease sales that “best meet regional and national energy needs.”
This schedule also considers the impact of oil and gas exploration on the marine, coastal and human environments.
Last week, BOEM released plans for a Central Atlantic offshore wind lease auction in mid-2024.
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