oil and gas leases

GOP U.S. House passes bill opening more public land to development if reserve oil is tapped

BY: - January 31, 2023

U.S. House Republicans passed a bill Friday to force the White House to make more federal land and waters available for oil and gas development if the president orders the withdrawal of more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill, passed 221-205, mostly along party lines, would strip the president’s power to remove oil from the reserve unless the U.S. Energy Department has a plan to allow new leasing on federal lands and waters for oil exploration.

Endless nonsense about the high price of gasoline

BY: - July 27, 2022

What a lot of complaining I hear about gas prices. I’ve done some myself. I also see a lot of blaming, especially of President Joe Biden. “It’s all his fault.” Hmm, could Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have just a little bit to do with the latest surge in prices at our gasoline pumps? Oil is a dense fuel, moved around with relative ease across the globe.

Interior Department calls for oil and gas leasing updates, but not ending production

BY: - November 29, 2021

The U.S. Interior Department recommended increased fees for oil and gas exploration on federal lands as part of a long-awaited report released Friday that environmental groups said didn’t go far enough in limiting fossil fuels and Republicans derided as an attack on domestic producers. The report, ordered by President Joe Biden during his first week in office, focuses on fiscal reforms...

U.S. Senate confirms Stone-Manning as public lands chief, overcoming months of GOP attacks

BY: and - October 1, 2021

The U.S. Senate voted along party lines Thursday night to make Tracy Stone-Manning (pictured at left) the first confirmed director of the Bureau of Land Management since the Obama administration. The vote, 50-45, ended a contentious confirmation process for Stone-Manning, a senior adviser for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation who served as chief […]

Biden administration to restart oil and gas leasing

BY: and - August 25, 2021

The Interior Department will make significant steps toward restarting its leasing programs for onshore and offshore oil and gas development in the coming months, the Biden administration said in a court filing Tuesday. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management anticipates holding a sale for offshore leases in October or November, the administration said. The Bureau […]

White House pledges to fight court order on oil and gas leases, but activists want more

BY: and - August 18, 2021

The Biden administration plans to appeal a federal court decision forcing the government to restart oil and gas leases that have been paused since January. But administration officials are also promising to comply in a way that takes into account the damage caused by fossil fuel development. The two-part move worries progressive activists and members […]

Federal judge halts Biden pause on new oil and gas leases across the U.S.

BY: and - June 16, 2021

A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the Biden administration to restart regular sales of oil and gas leases, forcing the administration to prematurely abandon a central piece of its climate change agenda. In a preliminary ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty granted the request of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and 12 […]

Biden’s public lands pick wins backing by environmental advocates ahead of hearing

BY: and - June 8, 2021

Environmental groups are lining up behind President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management prior to her Tuesday confirmation hearing. More than 100 organizations wrote to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.), Monday asking that the Senate confirm Tracy Stone-Manning, a Montanan who led conservation and […]

Biden to pause new oil and gas leases on public lands in sweeping climate order

BY: - January 27, 2021

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden plans to sign a host of executive orders on climate Wednesday that will put a hold on new oil and gas leases on federal property, place environmental justice in the center of climate reform and set goals of conserving nearly a third of the nation’s land and water.  On the leases, likely […]