Decision to Withhold Lease Sales Harmful to Production and Pricing

For Immediate Release

Houston (12 May 2022) – In response to the Department of Interior’s announcement that it will not proceed with plans for three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Cook Inlet, IADC President Jason McFarland issued the following statement:

The Biden Administration’s calls for more domestic production and lower prices in the North American market simply do not square with its repeated decisions to cancel, delay, and otherwise make unfeasible, federal oil and gas lease sales. Federal leasing is critical to ensuring increasing production and the continued employment of hundreds of thousands of workers. It is extremely disappointing to see the Administration continue to shift blame to the upstream industry, to the courts, to other nations, and back around again, for an anemic exploration and production outlook that is a direct result of its own misguided policies and poor planning.

This decision by the Administration will only serve to exacerbate the growing uncertainty of global energy markets at a time in which affordable, secure energy is a top priority for underpinning national economies. Additionally, the impact of these cancellations will be compounded by the fact that the Administration seems intent on disregarding its legal obligations under the Outer Continental Shelf Land Act to propose a new five-year plan by 1 July.

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