Offshore lease sales to resume in USA
USA
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 26, 2021 – Following a ban on new offshore oil and gas lease sales the US government will resume transactions by the end of 2021, the Biden administration announced on Tuesday.
A challenge to the freeze on hydrocarbons-related auctions on federal waters that started in January 2021 was overruled by federal courts in Louisiana through a preliminary injunction in June 2021.
The suit was put forth by the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
The ban was put in place for the government to review the programme’s climate and fiscal considerations.
Congress had continued to approve more than 500 drilling permits since January. Operators hold almost 8,000 existing permits.
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