They said limiting access to publicly owned energy resources would mean more foreign oil imports, lost jobs and fewer tax revenues. The administration’s announcement drew a quick backlash from Republicans and oil industry trade groups. Mineral leasing laws state that federal lands are for many uses, including extracting oil and gas, but the Democrat could set out to rewrite those laws, said Kevin Book, managing director at Clearview Energy Partners. Its effect could be further blunted by companies that stockpiled enough drilling permits in Trump’s final months to allow them to keep pumping oil and gas for years.īut Biden’s move could be the first step in an eventual goal to ban all leases and permits to drill on federal land. The Interior Department order did not limit existing oil and gas operations under valid leases, meaning activity won’t come to a sudden halt on the millions of acres of lands in the West and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico where much drilling is concentrated. On his first day in office, Biden signed a series of executive orders that underscored his different approach - rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, revoking approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada and telling agencies to immediately review dozens of Trump-era rules on science, the environment and public health. Trump consistently downplayed the dangers of climate change, which Biden has made a top priority. Under former President Donald Trump, federal agencies prioritized energy development and eased environmental rules to speed up drilling permits as part of the Republican’s goal to end reliance on foreign energy supplies and boost domestic production. Land sales or exchanges and the hiring of senior-level staff at the agency also were suspended. The order also applies to coal leases and permits, and blocks the approval of new mining plans. It includes an exception giving a small number of senior Interior officials - the secretary, deputy secretary, solicitor and several assistant secretaries - authority to approve actions that otherwise would be suspended. The order did not ban new drilling outright.
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