The US Interior Department has cancelled three oil and gas lease sales scheduled in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's Cook Inlet. The decision is justified by the authorities by conflicting court rulings that have complicated drilling efforts in the Gulf of Mexico (lease sales 259 and 261) and a lack of industry interest in drilling off the Alaska coast (lease sale 258) .
In January 2022, a US District Court judge for the District of Columbia suspended oil and gas leases for over 80 million acres (around 37 million hectares) in the Gulf of Mexico, considering that the Department of Interior's analysis did not fully take into account the climate impacts of the leases. More than 1.1 Gbl of oil and 4.4 tcf (125 bcm) of gas were projected from the Lease Sale 257.
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