In a move that will likely be unpopular among environmental groups and the fossil fuel industry, the US Department of Interior announced Friday its plans to resume onshore oil and gas lease sales on federal land accompanied by a higher royalty rate that the companies will need to pay to the federal government.
The sale notices on the upcoming oil and gas projects will be issued on Monday by the Bureau of Land Management.
The offer will comprise of around 173 parcels on roughly 144,000 acres of federal land, which, according to the Department of Interior, is an 80% reduction from the acreage originally considered for leasing.
The amount of land being offered was reduced after the engagement with Native tribes and local communities and the robust environmental review, but the department would also focus on offering new leases near existing oil and gas infrastructure.
It will also continue to disclose greenhouse gas emissions resulting from oil and gas drilling on federal lands.
The increase in the rate that companies pay to drill for oil and gas on public land – which is now up from 12.5% to 18.75% – follows the controversial report the Department of Interior issued last November recommending such a move and is the first time the federal government has ever increased the royalty rate.
Stressing that the Biden administration is disregarding its promises on the climate crisis, environmental groups blasted the move as reforms that are 20 years too late and will only additionally fuel the climate emergency.
According to Natasha Léger, executive director of Citizens for a Healthy Community, restarting the lease sales will only lead to more climate disasters.
Frank Macchiarola, the American Petroleum Institute’s senior VP of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs, welcomed the Biden administration’s action but said it didn’t go far enough in opening the country’s federal land to drilling.
The American Petroleum Institute is a powerful oil lobby.
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