LOGA President Mike Moncla today declared the U.S. Department of Interior’s newly released five-year plan for federal offshore oil and gas leasing will “curtail discoveries for years to come.”
The plan proposes up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico in 2024, 2027 and 2029.
Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.
“As predictable as it is, it is still disappointing to see that the Biden administration’s war on the oil and gas industry rages on,” Moncla said in a released statement. “The Inflation Reduction Act promised us anywhere from zero to eleven offshore lease sales. Now, they’re only committing to three for the next five years. This will curtail discoveries for years to come.”
Moncla also noted the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “implemented another hurdle” with a newly proposed Programmatic Environmental Impact Study that he contends will add future delays.
“Every other administration prior to this one had Five-Year Plans that enabled uninterrupted leasing activities,” Moncla said. “This action will negatively impact Louisiana jobs and diminish GOMESA funds that are rebuilding our coast.”
See Moncla’s entire statement here and read more about the Biden administration’s plan from the Associated Press.
