Biden administration punts on whether to open up more offshore drilling
The Biden administration is punting a decision on whether to open up more lease sales for offshore drilling.
In a statement issued Friday, the administration said it is still working on a plan, and that when issued it could include as many as 11 specific lease sales for offshore oil and gas drilling or as few as zero.
An Interior Department official said equal weight is being given to scenarios with zero sales, some sales or all 11 sales.
The statement was issued one day after a previous five-year offshore drilling plan expired. That plan had been launched by the Obama administration.
The sales under consideration include an area in the Cook Inlet near Alaska, and as many as 10 sales in the Gulf of Mexico.
The move comes as the administration grapples with the politics of high gasoline prices, which recently reached as high as $5 per gallon nationally. And it follows a major Supreme Court decision curbing the Environmental Protection Agency’s powers to regulate the climate contributions of power plants.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Source: TEST FEED1
