The American Petroleum Institute (API) has filed a legal challenge against the Biden administration’s offshore oil and gas leasing program, which includes the fewest number of lease sales in U.S. history.
The Department of the Interior’s plan restricts future offshore fossil fuel lease sales, leading to concerns about energy security and reliance on foreign sources.
“Demand for affordable, reliable energy is only growing, yet this administration has used every tool at its disposal to restrict access to vast energy resources in federal waters,” API Senior Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers said.
The plan schedules just three Gulf of Mexico lease sales through 2029, ruling out leasing off the Alaskan coast and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“In issuing a five-year program with the fewest lease sales in history, the administration is limiting access in a region responsible for generating among the lowest carbon-intensive barrels in the world, putting American consumers at greater risk of relying on foreign sources for our future energy needs,” Meyers said.
“Today, we are taking action to challenge this shortsighted program so that future generations of Americans will continue to benefit from our energy advantage for decades to come,” Meyers said.
The DOI indicated that an even more restrictive program was considered, potentially impacting offshore wind energy development.
This move represents a departure from previous administrations’ approaches to offshore lease sales.
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