The US Department of Interior has revealed initial steps towards holding onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling auctions in the US states of New Mexico, Wyoming and in the Gulf of Mexico in the coming months.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public input for 30 days on a plan to offer 209 parcels (totalling 251,086 acres or 1,016 km2) in Wyoming and 45 parcels (totalling 10,124 acres or 41 km2) in New Mexico to oil and gas companies. it will evaluate potential sale parcels in other states in the coming weeks.
Simultaneously, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released a draft environmental impact statement for two Gulf of Mexico drilling auctions that are required to be held in 2023. Congress directed that Lease Sale 259 be held by 31 March 2023, and Lease Sale 261 by 30 September 2023.
Terms of the onshore sales will reflect new requirements under the US government’s new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including higher royalty rates, minimum bids and rents. In August 2022, the United States passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes US$369bn in energy security and climate change programs over the next ten years, but also contains protections for the US oil and gas sector.
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