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On Tuesday, a judge ruled in favor of resuming the sale of oil and gas leases on U.S. public land, the Biden administration ordered a halt to the suspension of new projects, and the president slammed the country for its efforts to divert fossil fuels.
The Louisiana court ruled in favor of 13 fossil fuel states, including Texas, Alaska and Oklahoma, and issued a provisional order Interruption of the White House in new leases. The decision will allow the leases to be resumed while the court hears further arguments in the case.
“Failure to make any rational explanation for the suspension of lease sales and the imposition of the pause concludes that the court’s ruling is that the plaintiffs are also highly likely to be successful in the merits of that claim,” Judge Terry Doughty said.
The verdict was a a significant setback For Joe Biden, in January he ordered the suspension of new leases for the development of fossil fuels on public land and water while the permitting process was reviewed.
The suspension, which had no effect on the first drilling permits, fulfilled its electoral commitment and marked the most important move the president had taken against the energy sector. he campaigned “the transition to oil.”
The interior department said it would comply with Tuesday’s decision, but said it would continue with review work, “because it will determine the next steps and recommendations.”
The department has not waived when the lease auctions could begin.
The suspension had no effect on private land activities, accounting for most of the U.S. oil and gas production. Instead, land and water were applied federally, accounting for about 22% of U.S. oil production.
But the judge believes the pause could do a lot of damage to states where production depends on public lands. “There are millions and maybe billions of dollars at stake,” Doughty wrote. “The complainants are interested in the profits from offshore and oil and gas lease sales.
The oil industry made the right decision. “The federal lease break is detrimental to our nation’s national security, environmental progress and economic recovery,” said Kevin O’Scannlain, vice president of upstream policy at the American Petroleum Institute, a powerful lobby group in Big Oil Washington. “We are pleased that the court’s ruling must resume leasing of natural gas and oil in federal territories and waters.”
The National Oceanic Industries Association, which represents marine drillers in the Gulf of Mexico, also welcomed the decision, saying it “confirms internal conditions” for the interior department to schedule sales of offshore oil and gas leases.
Tuesday’s resolution is unlikely to be the final word on the issue. The preliminary order shall remain in force until the final decision of the case or an appeal is lodged with the higher court.
“The victory could be short-lived,” wrote Washington consulting analysts at ClearView Energy Partners. “In addition to expecting an internal resolution appeal, we believe the Biden administration may also consider pausing the lease through other mechanisms.”
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