After the Biden administration on Tuesday said it would resume oil and gas lease sales, paused since January, National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) said the move was good news for jobs and government revenues, and "in no way a setback for climate progress."
NOIA President Erik Milito said: "The resumption of the offshore lease schedule and of Lease Sale 257 is welcome news. As Louisianans and Gulf Coast residents recover from Hurricane Ida, the resumption of offshore lease sales adds certainty to their jobs and livelihoods.
"There is no shortage of reasons why Gulf of Mexico energy development supports many of the top priorities of the Biden Administration. U.S. Gulf of Mexico production enables low carbon barrels of oil, supports more than 345,000 jobs, many of which are accessible, high-paying and cannot be easily substituted, and generates vital government revenues for conservation and recreation programs, including ones in economically distressed urban areas.
He said: "Furthermore, Gulf of Mexico leasing can help avert inflationary risks and proactively ensure affordable energy for all walks of life, especially low-income communities.
“Importantly, Federal oil and gas leasing in the offshore is in no way a setback for climate progress. The U.S. offshore produces among the lowest carbon barrels of the oil-producing regions. We provide a low carbon energy alternative to oil produced by foreign, higher emitting producers, like Russia and China. As long as Americans depend upon oil and gas for modern life, our policymakers should always choose safe, low emissions American energy.”
Biden in January paused oil and gas lease sales on federal lands and waters pending “review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices.
This meant that the Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257, originally scheduled for March 2020, would be delayed, too.
Come June, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the oil and gas lease pause, ordering the administration to lift the ban.
The Lease Sale 257 is now planned for the fall of 2021. This is the eighth lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico under the 2017-2022 National OCS Program. BOEM will offer 78.2 million acres in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as part of the lease sale.
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