US Interior Dept Revokes Trump Energy Policies, Focuses on Climate
The U.S. Interior Department on Friday sought to erase the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuels legacy from the nation's public lands by revoking a suite of policies that boosted drilling and mining and ordering that climate change be put at the forefront in future agency decisions.The moves come as the Democratic Biden administration moves rapidly to implement policies aimed at decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050.Republican former President Donald Trump…
Record U.S. Oil Offshore Lease Sale to Test Trump Energy Push
The U.S. Interior Department will hold the largest lease sale in American history in the offshore Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, in a major test of the oil industry’s appetite for federal acreage being offered by the Trump administration. The auction of more than 77 million acres (31.2 million hectares) - an area twice the size of Florida - is part of an effort by President Donald Trump's administration to ramp up U.S. fossil fuels production by lowering royalty rates, opening up more public lands, and rolling back environmental protections.
California to Ban Crude from Trump Offshore Drilling Plan
California will block the transport of petroleum from new offshore oil rigs through its state, officials told Reuters, a move meant to hobble the Trump administration’s effort to vastly expand drilling in U.S. federal waters. California's threat to deny pipeline permits for transporting oil from new leases off the Pacific Coast is the latest step by states trying to halt the biggest proposed expansion in decades of federal oil and gas leasing.
US Senate Pushes Alaska Wildlife Refuge, But Drillers Look Elsewhere
Even as the U.S. Senate moves to allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the real action is 150 miles (241 km) west, where industry proponents hope a coming sale of 10 million acres of land will revitalize the state's sagging crude production. The Trump administration, through the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, will auction off 10 million acres on Wednesday in the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A), a hotbed of oil exploration and development in the western part of Alaska's North Slope.
U.S. Interior Dept. says Federal Energy, Mineral Revenues Rose by $1bln
Energy and mineral production on federal and tribal land generated $7.1 billion in disbursements in fiscal year 2017, $1 billion more than the previous year, the U.S. Interior Department said on Thursday. *Interior attributed the increase in disbursements to a larger number of lease sales totaling higher acreage, efforts to streamline permitting and reduce regulatory burdens, and higher oil and gas prices experienced during the year. *Interior's Office of Natural Resources Revenue disbursed $1.44 billion to five western states…
Senate Panel Set to Advance Quest for Oil in Alaska Refuge
Oil drilling in a vast Alaskan wildlife refuge could move a step closer to reality on Wednesday as a Senate panel votes to open part of the reserve coveted by conservationists. Republicans, who control Congress and the White House, have long wanted to prise open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the north coast known as the 1002 area. Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican and the head of the Senate energy committee, says drilling in the refuge is needed to provide jobs and boost the country's resource base.
US Sets Gulf of Mexico O&G Lease Auction for March
The U.S. Interior Department said it will hold its largest offshore auction to date, nearly 77 million acres, to energy companies in March 2018 to conduct oil and gas development. The proposed lease of offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida blocks continues U.S. President Donald J. Trump's efforts to encourage domestic energy production despite relatively low oil prices, the department said. The proposed lease sale includes 14…
US Interior Department Rescinds Coal Valuation Rule
The U.S. Department of the Interior said on Monday it has rescinded an Obama-era rule that reformed how energy companies value sales of oil, gas and coal extracted from federal and tribal land to protect taxpayers because it caused "confusion and uncertainty" for energy companies. "Repealing the valuation rule provides a clean slate to create workable valuation regulations," Zinke said in a statement. The valuation rule was proposed by former…
US to Relax Rules Protecting Sage Grouse, a Win for Oil
The U.S. Interior Department on Monday launched an overhaul to an Obama-era plan to protect sage grouse that it says aims to both preserve the species of bird while expanding opportunities for oil development in western states where they live. The move is a win for the drilling industry which had long argued that the plan developed by former President Barack Obama was too restrictive, but a setback for conservation groups concerned the Interior Department under President Donald Trump is watering down wildlife protections.
U.S. to Review Energy Royalty Rates
The U.S. Interior Department said on Wednesday that it would form a new committee to review royalty rates collected from oil and gas drilling, coal mining and renewable energy production on federal lands to ensure taxpayers receive their full value. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the committee would advise him on whether the government is getting a fair price from companies that lease public land for energy and natural resource development.
US Interior Department Outlines Federal Coal Reforms
The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday recommended federal coal leasing reforms to ensure taxpayers receive the fair value of the fuel and account for its impact on climate change, but the incoming administration could derail those measures. The department's Bureau of Land Management released the findings from its first study of the federal coal program in three decades. The report comes a year after Interior Secretary Sally Jewell halted new federal coal leases while the agency conducted the review.
U.S. Interior Dept Finalizes Rule to Protect Waterways from Coal Mining
The U.S. Interior Department on Monday finalized a contentious rule to protect streams and forests from coal mining impacts, one of the Obama administration's last major environmental regulations. The Stream Protection Rule, which the coal industry strongly opposes, updates 33-year-old regulations with stronger requirements for responsible surface coal mining. The Interior Department says the rule will protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests over the next two decades. (Reporting By Valerie Volcovici)
US Completes Rule to Curb Methane from Federal O&G Production
The U.S. Interior Department finalized rules on Tuesday aimed at preventing methane leaks from oil and gas production on federal and tribal lands, one of the last major Obama administration rules aimed at fighting climate change. Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said on Tuesday the rule, updating 30-year-old regulations that govern flaring, venting and natural gas leaks from oil and gas production, could avoid wasting up to 41 billion cubic feet (BCF) of natural gas per year.
Oil Markets Impacted Atlantic Drilling Decision: White House
Energy market dynamics factored into the decision by the Obama administration to reverse course on a proposal to open the southeastern Atlantic coastal area to oil and gas drilling, the White House said on Tuesday. There were also objections from the Department of Defense, commercial interests and local communities, a White House spokesman said. The U.S. Interior Department said earlier on Tuesday that it would not allow drilling in the area…
Obama Administration: "No" to Atlantic Coast Drilling
The Obama administration said Tuesday it will not open up drilling on the southeastern Atlantic coast due to current oil market dynamics and strong local opposition. The U.S. In addition to market and environmental concerns, the Interior Department has decided to withdraw its plan to open up the Atlantic coast to drilling due to conflicts with competing commercial and military ocean uses. The decision will reverse the proposal made by the…
US Issues Alert on Offshore Oil Equipment Problems
The U.S. Interior Department issued a safety alert on Tuesday, warning offshore oil and gas drillers about a "recurring problem of connector and bolt failures" in equipment including blowout preventers. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a unit of the department, said it was aware of the problem, which affected components used in risers and underwater blowout preventers used in offshore drilling. "These failures are of great concern to BSEE due to their frequency and the potential for a catastrophic event…
Obama Administration to Reveal U.S. Coal Strategy
The Obama administration will announce the next steps in its effort "to strengthen and modernize" the nation's coal program later on Friday, the U.S. Interior Department said in a statement. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, alongside other federal officials, will make the announcement at a 10 a.m. press conference, the department said in the statement. Reporting by Patrick Rucker
U.S. Cancels Arctic Offshore lease Sale
The U.S. Interior Department on Friday said it would cancel two potential Arctic offshore lease sales after Royal Dutch Shell PLC said that it was not interested in those leases. "In light of Shell's announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement. Shell said last month it was giving up its Arctic search for oil after failing to find enough crude oil.
US: Shell is Not Yet Allowed to Drill in Arctic Oil Zone
The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday granted Royal Dutch Shell two final permits to explore for crude in the Arctic this summer, but said the company cannot drill into the oil zone until required emergency equipment arrives in the region. The department's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) conditionally granted Shell permits for exploration in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska, in a season which sea ice limits from July until October.
Shell's Arctic Return Faces Hurdle at Seattle Port
Royal Dutch Shell's quest to return to Arctic drilling for the first time in three years could face delays after Seattle ruled that the city's port must apply for a permit for the company to use it as a hub for drilling rigs. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, a Democrat who has fought against new projects by coal and oil companies, applauded the requirement by the city's planning department. "This is an opportunity for the port and all of us to make a bold statement about how oil companies contribute to climate change…
