RT.com
13 May 2022, 07:18 GMT+10
The Biden administration calls off three sales of offshore exploration acreage even as Americans struggle with surging fuel prices
President Joe Biden's administration has canceled three offshore oil and natural-gas lease sales, including one in Alaska, diminishing prospects for new sources of supply even as record gasoline prices help keep the US inflation rate at a 40-year high.
The US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the decision on Wednesday, calling off lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's Cook Inlet. The department blamed "conflicting court rulings" for complicating its work on the Gulf of Mexico auction and "lack of industry interest" for torpedoing the Alaska offering.
The sales were canceled despite a law requiring the DOI to complete its five-year leasing plan, including the Gulf of Mexico and Cook Inlet auctions, by the end of next month. The decision also comes as fallout from sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis accelerates the rise in energy prices.
READ MORE: Biden backtracks on oil drilling ban
US gasoline prices set new all-time highs three days in a row this week, reaching an average of $4.42 a gallon for the cheapest grade on Thursday. Diesel is near $5.56 a gallon, also a record.
"Biden's decision to cancel the Alaska oil and gas lease sale makes zero sense in this energy-constrained environment," said Dan Eberhart, CEO of drilling-services contractor Canary LLC. "America is short on supply, and consumers are paying the price at the pump."
Biden has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin, US oil companies and Republicans for surging fuel prices. However, critics have pointed out that the president revoked a permit for extension of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried more than 800,000 barrels a day of Canadian crude to US Gulf Coast refiners, and his administration has failed to make new exploration prospects on federal lands available.
"It's day 477 of the Biden administration, we have record gas prices, and they have still not leased one acre of land to drill oil," Representative Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) said on Thursday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) noted that US gasoline prices have risen by more than $2 per gallon since Biden took office in January 2021.
"The president has spoken about the need for additional supplies in the market, but his administration has failed to take action to match that rhetoric," American Petroleum Institute executive Frank Macchiarola said. "In the kind of price environment that we're seeing, there are negative consequences to shutting off oil and gas development, both politically and practically."
The Alaska sale alone would have offered up more than 1 million acres of exploration prospects with potential to yield production for four or more decades.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Mexico Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Mexico Star.
More InformationRecent research has linked playing video games in childhood with an increase in intelligence. While parents and carers may be ...
New York [US], May 23 (ANI/Xinhua): New York City, the most populous city in the United States, has entered into ...
Lahore [Pakistan], May 23 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued a warning against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) Chairman Imran ...
Beijing [China], May 23 (ANI): The United States has said it was "deeply concerned" about United Nations High Commissioner for ...
New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): In a major relief, the Centre on Monday relaxed family pension rules for missing ...
The Ukraine war and other conflicts pushed the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: In a letter released this week, the archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, said U.S. House Speaker ...
BERLIN, Germany: At least 43 people were injured after a tornado struck the western German city of Paderborn on May ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Department of Justice has said that an American citizen and four Chinese intelligence officers have been charged ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to the inability of businesses to hire enough workers, the U.S. has announced that it will grant ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren and Mike Rounds have introduced a bipartisan resolution requesting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ...
MOSCOW, Russia: According to preliminary data released by the finance ministry this week, almost three months after Moscow's invasion of ...