Shhhh, don’t tell AOC Biden has just reimposed another Trump policy to get himself out of trouble.
In January Biden slashed US oil product crippling the industry former president Donald Trump had revived.
On his first day in office Biden issued an executive order placing a temporary ban on leases located in ANWR.
“President Biden believes America’s national treasures are cultural and economic cornerstones of our country and he is grateful for the prompt action by the Department of the Interior to suspend all leasing pending a review of decisions made in the last administration’s final days that could have changes the character of this special place forever,” BidenAdvisor Gina McCarthy said.
Today’s sale was consistent with a U.S. District Court’s preliminary injunction, while the government appeals the decision. The Biden-Harris administration is continuing its comprehensive review of its offshore and onshore oil and gas leasing programs and initiating reforms. Moving forward, BOEM will use updated greenhouse gas emission models to take substitution impacts and foreign oil consumption into account, resulting in the most robust projections ever of the climate impacts of offshore lease sales, as well as analyzing the social cost of carbon to better understand the true impacts of fossil fuel leasing decisions.
A total of 33 companies participated in the lease sale, submitting $198,511,834 in total bids. Leases resulting from this sale will include stipulations to protect biologically sensitive resources, mitigate potential adverse effects on protected species, and avoid potential conflicts associated with oil and gas development in the region.
Revenues received from offshore oil and gas leases (including high bids, rental payments and royalty payments) are directed to the U.S. Treasury, certain Gulf Coast states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama) and local governments, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Historic Preservation Fund.
Lease Sale 257 offered approximately 15,148 unleased blocks located from three to 231 miles offshore, in the Gulf’s Western, Central and Eastern Planning Areas in water depths ranging from nine to more than 11,115 feet (three to 3,400 meters).