Today, Energy Workforce & Technology Council, Independent Petroleum Association of America, US Oil and Gas Association, National Ocean Industries Association, Western Energy Alliance, and the International Association of Drilling Contractors issued the following statements in response to Maryland Judge Boardman's decision to vacate the 2020 Gulf of Mexico Biological Opinion (BiOp).

On 2 November, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the further postponement of Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 261.

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) expresses profound disappointment in response to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) release of the 2024-2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program.

IADC is pleased to see the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent affirmation of last week’s District Court ruling addressing the Department of the Interior’s Rice’s Whale restrictions imposed on Lease Sale 261 in the Gulf of Mexico.

This week, IADC honored 21 members of the US Congress with the IADC Legislator Award for their unyielding support of oil and gas. IADC organized a group, including individuals from 10 IADC member companies, to fly to Washington, DC, and represent the drilling industry.

The International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) asserts that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) recent decision to cancel the seven remaining leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Coastal Plain is short-sighted and will very likely have long-lasting consequences.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published recommended revisions to the Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Rule. The proposed changes would impact the BLM’s oil and gas leasing regulatory framework by modifying the current fiscal terms and leasing processes. 

On 29 March 2023, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) executed Lease Sale 259, the second of three such lease sales as compelled by the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by the U.S. Congress in August 2022.

On 19 October, the Biden Administration announced that the Department of Energy will release an additional 15 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This action demonstrates the imperative need for ensuring vital energy resources are accessible for consumers in North America and around the world.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) announced reinstatement of Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257. IADC President Jason McFarland issued a statement in response.

The Department of the Interior announced 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 a statement in response.

Yesterday, members of the House Natural Resources Committee introduced a series of bills that would bolster the U.S. energy sector and give vital regulatory certainty to drilling contractors. Among many things, these six bills would address well-known oil and gas permitting delays currently facing the Department of Interior, as well as end the Biden Administration’s ban on federal onshore and offshore oil and gas leasing.

IADC applauds President Zelenskyy‘s courage and condemns the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine. The invasion and subsequent effects we are now seeing on global energy markets, geopolitics, and the lives of innocent Ukrainians, underscore a message which IADC has long espoused; that the sustained development of oil and gas is critical to every nation’s security.

IADC, along with five other industry organizations, submitted comments on proposed amendments to Essential Fish Habitat provisions maintained by the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council. The organizations outlined concerns that assessment of non-fishing activities in the Gulf of Mexico have not been adequately considered.

Yesterday the Biden Administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and waters, pursuant to Executive Order 14008, was blocked nationwide by a Federal judge in U.S. District Court in Louisiana. IADC President Jason McFarland issued a statement in response.

Yesterday the Biden Administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and waters, pursuant to Executive Order 14008, was blocked nationwide by a Federal judge in U.S. District Court in Louisiana. IADC President Jason McFarland issued a statement in response.

Representative August Pfluger (R-TX), joined by Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX), introduced the Natural Gas Export Expansion Act – a bill that would expand existing expedited LNG approval authorities and encourage a robust global energy supply chain. "IADC is encouraged to see this bipartisan legislation and applauds Congressman Pfluger and the other leaders of the Texas delegation for their continued work on critical issues affecting our energy landscapes.”

Today Representatives Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) introduced a bipartisan bill, the More Energy More Jobs Act of 2021. 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. “IADC strongly opposes any effort to categorically restrict leasing activities on federal lands or in federal waters and remains steadfast in supporting policies that enable safe and efficient drilling activities in the U.S. and abroad.

IADC President Jason McFarland issued the following statement in response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s announcement that it is rescinding the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Oil and Gas Lease Sale 257: “The Bureau’s decision to postpone the planned March lease sale is disappointing and brings further uncertainty to the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of American energy workers earning a living in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Wyoming, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today the Biden Administration announced executive action that will restrict oil and natural gas leasing on federal lands and in federal waters. In response, IADC President Jason McFarland issued the following statement: “The executive actions announced by the Administration today only serve to further curtail the ability of America’s natural gas and oil producers to successfully operate.