Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Biden to pause oil and gas sales on public lands

President Joe Biden is set to announce a wide-ranging moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on U.S. lands and waters, as his administration moves quickly to reverse Trump administration policies on energy and the environment and address climate change - but it will also lead to the loss of tens of thousands of jobs.

Oil industry groups slammed the move, saying Biden had already eliminated thousands of oil and gas jobs by killing the Keystone XL oil pipeline on his first day in office.

Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance, which represents oil and gas drillers in Western states, said the expected executive order is intended to delay drilling on federal lands to the point where it is no longer viable.

Oil and gas extracted from public lands and waters account for about a quarter of annual U.S. production.

Biden's choice to lead the Interior Department, which oversees oil and gas leasing on public lands, is New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland.

A leasing moratorium 'won´t reduce demand for oil,' Black said, but would merely move production from federal lands to private lands in New Mexico and Texas, where an oil boom is occurring in the Permian Basin.

The Biden administration has pledged to spend billions to assist in the transition away from fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, and Biden has said creating thousands of clean-energy jobs is a top priority.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9188989/Joe-Biden-pause-oil-drilling-public-lands.html 

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