The Biden administration on Thursday postponed a Nov. 8 sale of offshore drilling rights within the Gulf of Mexico pending the result of a lawsuit over oil and gasoline growth and federal safety of an endangered species of whale.
The transfer comes after a U.S. appeals courtroom on Oct. 26 quickly paused a decrease courtroom order requiring the Interior Department’s U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to broaden the public sale, which was initially scheduled to be held in September.
Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 13 in New Orleans.
“Until the court rules, BOEM cannot be certain of which areas or stipulations may be included in the sale notice,” the bureau mentioned in an announcement.
The oil and gasoline trade and the state of Louisiana had sued the Interior Department in August over its determination to cut back the public sale to cut back conflicts with Rice’s whale habitat.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), an oil trade commerce group that could be a plaintiff within the lawsuit, criticized the postponement.
“The Department of the Interior continues to demonstrate its willingness to ignore the clear and growing need to expand American energy leadership and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources,” Holly Hopkins, vp of upstream coverage at API, mentioned in an announcement.
(Reuters – Reporting by Nichola Groom; modifying by Jonathan Oatis)
