Statements

A federal court has extended the deadline to vacate the 2020 Biological Opinion on the Federally Regulated Oil and Gas Program Activities in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) now has until May 21, 2025, instead of December 20, 2024, to issue a new biological opinion, as required by the Endangered Species Act for offshore permitting.

IADC applauds Speaker McCarthy, Majority Leader Scalise, and everyone involved with the production and prioritization of H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. We strongly support this comprehensive legislation and believe it will restore much-needed certainty to U.S. federal leasing programs, both onshore and offshore.

Yesterday Representatives Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) and Henry Cuellar (TX-28) introduced a bipartisan bill, the More Energy More Jobs Act of 2023. The bill would require at least two area-wide lease sales annually in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico, as well as allow U.S. Governors to formally nominate areas for offshore natural gas and oil development.

On 5 October, IADC submitted comments regarding the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Proposed Program for the 2023-2028 federal offshore oil and gas leasing program. Regarding BOEM’s Proposed Program, IADC President Jason McFarland issued the following statement:

On Monday, IADC participated in a joint industry meeting with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Deputy Secretary, David Turk, and members of the Federal Lands Coalition. The group discussed how the industry can work with the Biden Administration to improve energy security in the U.S. and abroad, expand hydrocarbon exports to growing international markets, and responsibly replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.