Biden Nixes Offshore Oil Leases Thru 2023 While Tapping Strategic Oil Reserve

Joe Biden is trying to have his cake and eat it too as he shuts down exploration and production of oil and gas on onshore federal lands while acknowledging the importance of fossil fuels in the U.S. energy landscape.

The Oil Price dot com website reported on the Biden Administration shutting down lease sales for offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico as prices for the fossil fuels soar. The reported was based on a Bloomberg analysis of the president’s budget plan for fiscal year 2023:

In the budget plan for the fiscal year 2023, the U.S. Administration expects oil and gas rents and bonuses of just $25 million in the fiscal year 2023, compared to $395.5 million for fiscal year 2022. The drop of $370 million, Bloomberg notes, is the typical haul for the government from two oil and gas lease auctions in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) released a new analysis outlining the potential economic consequences of delaying the Department of the Interior’s five-year program for leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. The next five-year offshore leasing program must be in place by July 1, 2022, but is well behind schedule, and no offshore lease sales can be held unless DOI implements a new program, the API and NOIA said. A delayed five-year program could jeopardize an average of $5 billion in U.S. GDP, they added.

“A delay in the offshore oil and gas leasing program could mean nearly 500,000 barrels per day produced here in the US. At a time of geopolitical uncertainty and rapidly rising energy prices, Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production is more important than ever,” NOIA said.

API also responded to Biden’s announcement about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in an email sent to the media. – READ MORE