An oil and gas rig stands offshore as waves from Tropical Storm Karen crash ashore in Dauphin Island, Alabama, October 5, 2013.
Steve Nesius | Reuters
The Biden administration announced a five-year offshore oil and gas drilling development plan on Friday that would halt all new drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in U.S. waters, but would allow permits some semi-lease operations in the Gulf of Mexico and the south coast of Alaska. .
The proposed plan, which is yet to be finalized, could authorize up to 11 rental sales over the next five years. It also includes an option for admins not to conduct sales. The Department of Home Affairs invites the public to comment on the program.
Biden has vowed to suspend all new federal drilling on public lands and waters, but that position leads to Legal challenges from several Republican-led states and the oil sector.
As U.S. energy prices rise, the fossil fuel sector has urged the administration to ramp up offshore drilling in an effort to lower gas prices at the pump. However, climate groups have argued that new rental sales will exacerbate climate change while doing nothing to lower prices.
A recent report published by Apogee Economics and Policy said a halt to new oil and gas sales abroad would have minimal impact on gas prices for consumers – with prices rising less than 1% per gallon. over the next two decades.
“Since Day One, President Biden and I have made clear our commitment to the transition to a clean energy economy,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement Friday. “Today, we present an opportunity for the American people to review and provide input on the future of offshore oil and gas leasing.”
The Interior’s most recent offshore oil and gas auction was in November in the Gulf of Mexico. A court order later overturned the sale, arguing that the administration had failed to fully account for the environmental harm and impact on climate change.
Nearly 95% of U.S. offshore oil production and 71% of offshore natural gas production are in the Gulf of Mexico, based on Natural Resources Defense Council. About 15% of oil production in the US comes from offshore drilling.
Environmental groups on Friday condemned the administration for proposing to limit new rental sales instead of announcing a ban on all new drilling.
“The Biden administration has had the opportunity to hit climate timing and end new offshore oil leasing in the Interior’s five-year program,” said Drew Caputo, Earthjustice’s vice president of litigation. . “Instead, their proposal to service a new set of offshore oil leases is a failure of climate leadership and a violation of their climate promises.”
Environmental group have also argued that the new lease would thwart the White House’s goal of cutting carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030 in an effort to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“This draft plan does not meet what we desperately need: an end to new oil and gas drilling in interstate waters,” said Food & Water Watch chief executive Wenonah Hauter. “President Biden has called the climate crisis the existential threat of our time, but the administration continues to pursue policies that will only make it worse.”
