Bipartisan Senate Energy Panel Pushes for Gulf Oil Lease Sale Amid Legal Challenges and Environmental Concerns

Senate's energy committee leaders, from both parties, call for Nov. 8 Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease auction amidst federal court delays and in the face of environmental resistance; Biden's administration facing criticism for handling of the sale.

• The U.S. Senate's energy committee, consisting of both Democrats and Republicans, is urging President Joe Biden's administration to proceed with the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases sale previously scheduled for November 8, 2023. Despite a court order to carry out the sale currently on hold, the bipartisan leaders insist that the sale goes forward.
• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management initially planned for the auction, designated Lease Sale 261, to cover 73 million acres. However, after settling with environmental activists to protect endangered marine species, notably the Rice's whale, the bureau decreased the auction area to 67 million acres, which prompted legal suits from the oil industry and the state of Louisiana.
• A federal court in Louisiana previously ruled that the lease sale should proceed at its original scale and that the environmental protections for whales should be removed. This decision was subsequently appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Although a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not block the lower court's decision, it did push back the lease sale to November 8 to allow the administration more preparation time. Later, a separate panel stayed that verdict and scheduled a hearing for November 13 to assess the merits of the case. It's presently uncertain whether the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will delay the sale further, proceed with the complete 73 million-acre sale, or conduct a reduced-scale sale.
• Lawmakers and critics from both sides have criticized the administration's handling of the lease sale. Democratic West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, committee chairman and key player in the Inflation Reduction Act's pass, labeled the Biden administration's management of the sale as 'a complete mess' and asked for the sale to proceed, even if it means withdrawing from the agreement to protect whales.

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