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US scraps three offshore oil-and-gas drilling auctions in Gulf of Mexico and Alaska
By Arghyadeep Dutta - May 12, 2022, 07:16 PM ET
Last Updated - Jul 18, 2023, 05:14 PM EDT
• Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska sale canceled due to lack of industry interest
• Two sales in Gulf of Mexico were canceled due to conflicting court rulings
The Biden administration scrapped three planned sales of offshore oil and gas leases in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Department of Interior, in a statement on Wednesday, said it will not move forward with an auction for drilling rights in the Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska “due to lack of industry interest in leasing in the area.”
It also mentioned that “conflicting court rulings” have complicated the two sales in the Gulf of Mexico, where most US offshore drilling takes place.
The decisions come at a challenging time as the average price for a gallon of gas nationwide hit a record of $4.41 on Thursday, according to the AAA.
Surging gas prices have also compounded inflationary pressures on consumers, which Biden said will be his top domestic priority.
The three drilling rights were the last to be held under a 5-year leasing plan in federal waters on the outer continental shelf.
The plan expires in June, and the US government has not finalized a new program.
President Biden paused drilling auctions shortly after taking office due to pending analysis of their impacts on the environment and value to taxpayers.
Last June, a federal judge in Louisiana ordered a resumption of auctions.
The Interior Department then held an oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in November, but a court order later vacated that auction, mentioning that the Biden administration had failed to account for its impact on climate change properly.
Picture Credit: BBC
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