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New Mexico’s oil and gas industry is still waiting for a lease sale of federal public land for extraction operations, about halfway through the first quarter of 2022, arguing the government land managers missed a deadline to schedule such a sale.
Industry officials argued this week that a sale had not been scheduled in the first 45 days of 2022, allegedly in defiance of a federal court order.
The U.S. Department of Interior, the parent agency of the Bureau of Land Management that oversees onshore leasing and operations, including those in New Mexico, said it adhered to the court order but did not have a timeline for when a sale would occur.
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DOI spokesperson Melissa Schwartz said the agency was following a Louisiana federal judge’s order to resume lease sales after none were held in 2021 due to a moratorium issued by the administration of President Joe Biden upon assuming the office.
“We continue to comply with the injunction entered in Louisiana v. Biden and are reviewing recent orders from the district courts in Louisiana,” Schwartz said. “We do not have any updates as to timing of the next steps in the process.”
When he took office in 2021, the Biden-led DOI placed an indefinite moratorium on new federal leases of land used for fossil fuel development as the DOI conducted a system-wide review of the program and its environmental impacts.
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The move drew immediate criticism from oil and gas supporters who argued the pause in leasing would have severe impacts on states like New Mexico that depend on mineral extraction for large segments of the economy.
In June 2021, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty for the Western District of Louisiana issued an injunction against the halt on new leases, ordering the DOI to schedule lease sales following a lawsuit filed by a group of oil-producing states that March.
Plaintiff states in that case were Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
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New Mexico did not join the suit, but Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asserted she would seek exemptions from the federal actions due to the State of New Mexico’s efforts to mitigate pollution and climate change.
In response to Doughty’s injunction, the DOI announced it would hold onshore lease sales in the first quarter of 2022, stating in an August court filing a sale would be held within “approximately 45 days” after the sale notice was posted.
“When this Court’s preliminary injunction decision issued on June 15, the Department of the Interior immediately announced it would comply with that decision, and it has,” read the DOI’s court filing.
“Although Defendants respectfully disagree with the Court’s ruling, they are proceeding with leasing consistent with the Court’s injunction pending their appeal.”
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While a final notice was yet to be posted on the BLM’s website as of Friday, since the filing the agency held public scoping periods, conducted a new environmental analysis of the lands to be offered and extended a public comment period on that analysis by 10 days, ending Dec. 8, 2021.
It appeared no further action had been taken since the last comment period ended for the New Mexico sale and others around the U.S.
Lands in New Mexico in the sale included six parcels: one in Chaves County and four in Lea County managed by the BLM’s Pecos District Office in Carlsbad.
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The sale also included another parcel in Dewey County, Oklahoma for a total of about 533 acres in both states.
Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance argued the extensions and lack of sale by Feb. 15, 45 days into 2022, amounted to stalling tactics by the Biden administration which she said was working to prevent oil and gas development on federal land.
She was critical of Biden who recently contended his administration was working to lower gas prices, announcing the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve meant to increase supply during increased demand on the heels of the COVID-19 health crisis.
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But Sgamma argued more domestic oil production was the best way to reduce costs for American consumers, and Biden should immediately begin using public land for such activities.
“Pres. Biden just told the American people he’ll work like the devil to lower prices at the gas pump. But the lack of progress on federal lease sales means he’s not trying very hard,” she said. “The department continues to miss deadlines, drag its feet, and ignore a judge’s ruling to hold sales.
“The Biden Administration is intent on preventing American producers from developing the energy we have at home to meet our country’s needs and lower gas prices.”
And despite assertions by the federal government that sales were set to resume this year, Sgamma said she and the industry were unconvinced the Biden administration was supportive of American oil production.
“The reality is there hasn’t been a single onshore lease sale since the Biden Administration took office and it’s unclear there’s one on the horizon,” she said. “From the looks of it, the Biden Administration is working like the devil to hinder, not help, American production.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-618-7631, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.
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