American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 33
Agencies Move Forward On Leasing
Federal Minerals
WASHINGTON-New statutory requirements
cleared some of the sand in
the gears in the federal leasing process
and saw agencies take steps toward some
new on- and offshore federal leasing activity
this autumn.
The U.S. Department of the Interior
in early October issued its marching
orders for the Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management and Bureau of Land Management
to comply with the federal leasing
provisions in HR 5376, " The Inflation
Reduction Act, " that President Biden
signed this summer. A couple weeks later,
BOEM reported progress for oil and gas
leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Amid the progress, however, media
reports on barriers to offshore seismic
surveys indicate that a mathematical glitch
in the National Marine Fisheries Service's
modeling has skewed incidental wildlife
take estimates that influence permitting.
Although public records say federal regulators
have been aware of the issue since
April, press accounts observe that it has
not been corrected even though it has
backlogged offshore permitting.
Onshore Leasing
DOI asserts that HR 5376 has " provided
important modernization of the
BLM's oil and gas leasing program, including
increasing the minimum royalty
rate, minimum bid, and rental rates; assessing
a fee for the filing of expressions
of interest; and eliminating non-competitive
leasing. "
However, Petroleum Association of
Wyoming Vice President and Director of
Communications Ryan McConnaughey
has cautioned in media reports that the
additional requirements may blunt producers'
interest in development. " Companies
will have to determine whether
these new increased royalty rates and
fees on federal lands are still going to
make it economically viable here in
Wyoming, " he is quoted. " With (the forthcoming
Wyoming lease sale) being the
first major sale since these changes, it
will be an interesting process to see how
it plays out in this next lease sale. "
On Oct. 6, BLM announced it would
begin scoping for the next onshore oil
and gas lease sales in New Mexico and
Wyoming under a strategy that included
onshore lease sales consistent with the
terms of the law.
The bureau's New Mexico office has
posted for public comment a review of
45 parcels totaling 10,123 acres, while
BLM's Wyoming office has made available
for public comment a review of 209
parcels totaling 251,087 acres. BLM's
early October announcement also said
scoping notices from other states to evaluate
additional potential sale parcels
would be posted " in the coming weeks. "
In press accounts, McConnaughey has
expressed hope that the Wyoming acreage
offer proves to be merely a solid start instead
of the sum total. " While the amount
of acreage listed in the sale would be
good for a quarterly lease sale, in general,
you have to take into consideration that
it may be one of only one or two lease
sales in 2023, " he is quoted.
Offshore Leasing
On Oct. 6, BOEM said it had prepared
a draft supplemental environmental impact
statement for Gulf of Mexico Lease Sales
259 and 261. HR 5376 requires the bureau
to hold Lease Sale 259 by March 31,
2023, and Lease Sale 261 by Sept. 30,
2023.
On Oct. 20, BOEM announced a proposed
Gulf lease sale and completion of
an environmental review for Cook Inlet,
offshore Alaska. The bureau has published
the proposed notice of sale for Sale 259
at www.boem.gov/sale-259 and points
out that stakeholders can submit comments
and recommendations to BOEM regarding
the lease sale's size, timing and location.
The notice was published in the Oct. 24
Federal Register and deadline for comments
is March 29, 2023.
The Cook Inlet Lease Sale 258 EIS
has been published to BOEM's website
at www.boem.gov/ak258. HR 5376 directs
BOEM to hold Lease Sale 258 by the
end of the year.
" The final EIS analyzes the important
environmental resources and uses (e.g.,
sea otter and beluga whale populations;
subsistence activities; commercial fishing
of pacific salmon and halibut; and more)
that currently exist within the Cook Inlet
planning area and identifies robust mitigation
measures to be considered in
leasing the area, " BOEM says. " After
analyzing a range of alternatives, the final
EIS identifies the preferred alternative,
which would offer for lease 193 unleased
OCS blocks (approximately 387,771
hectares or 958,202 acres).
" It defers the 17 OCS blocks wholly
or partially overlapping beluga whale and
northern sea otter critical habitats; and
applies additional mitigation measures to
reduce potential impacts to the beluga
whales and their critical habitat and feeding
areas, sea otters and their critical habitat,
and the gillnet fishery, " the bureau adds.
Ultimately, suggests National Ocean
Industries Association President Erik Milito,
BOEM still has much to do, but it has
taken important steps in the right direction.
" Americans continue to be beleaguered
by high energy prices and the American
economic outlook is uncertain, at best, "
he considers. " Continued American offshore
oil and gas production means good-paying
jobs, affordable energy supplies, and important
funding for local infrastructure
needs, coastal restoration and resiliency,
and parks and recreation programs. "
Milito points out that the vast majority
of U.S. offshore oil and gas production
occurs in the Gulf. " The region is an
economic engine that operates under
world class safety standards and produces
among the lowest carbon barrels of oil in
the world, " he reports. " Maintaining lease
sales is fundamental when it comes to
keeping energy flowing. We should never
have to depend upon foreign nations for
energy when we have the premier, lower
carbon energy region which is the Gulf
of Mexico.
" In other words, supporting continued
American offshore oil and gas production
is simply good policy, " he concludes.
Still Waiting
Milito also has commented on how
NMFS' model overestimates incidental
wildlife takes in a way that has bogged
down offshore permitting.
" We have heard specifically from companies
that-without getting these permits
processed in a timely manner, they are
not able to do the seismic work which is
required for them to move forward with
their exploration and drilling plans, which
means that they are delayed in moving
forward with their programs, " Milito told
Fox Business. " It holds back production
and investment in the United States. "
On April 5, NOIA, the American Petroleum
Institute and the Energeo Alliance
wrote National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Administrator Richard
Spinrad, calling for NMFS-which is a
NOAA subagency-to correct its math.
" Put simply, industry identified shortcomings
in the modeling approach that led to
exponential overestimates of take, " their
letter states. " The Gulf of Mexico incidental
NOVEMBER 2022 33
http://www.boem.gov/sale-259
http://www.boem.gov/ak258
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022
Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Intro
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover1
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover2
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Contents
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - 4
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover3
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2022 - Cover4
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