Full Title: Offshore Oil and Gas: Biden Administration’s “Pause” on New Leasing
Author(s): Laura B. Comay
Publisher(s): Congressional Research Service
Publication Date: August 23, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
On January 27, 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14008, directing multiple administrative actions to address climate change. Section 208 of the order directed the Secretary of the Interior to “pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices, …” to the extent that such actions are “consistent with applicable law.” The E.O.stated that the review must evaluate “potential climate and other impacts” associated with oil and gas leasing, as well as whether to adjust royalties paid to the federal government from onshore and offshore oil and gas production to account for “climate costs.”
As implemented by the Department of the Interior (DOI), the leasing pause has consisted of a halt on sales of new onshore and offshore oil and gas leases for an undefined period, during which exploration and development of existing leases are allowed to continue. Some stakeholders have asserted that the pause could have significant long–term impacts for oil and gas investment, production, and revenues, while others have asserted that it would have few impacts given that activities on existing leases are continuing.