The Biden administration is expected to extend the 60-day freeze it announced last week of leases and permits for oil and gas drilling and coal mining on federal lands.
POLITICO reported the moratorium could last up to one year for oil and gas and three years for coal. The Capitol Hill news website based the report on “two people familiar with the plan.”
States such as New Mexico where the Permian Basin includes drilling on federal lands have voiced criticism of the economic impact such a free will cause to the state.
The POLITICO report stated that during the one year freeze, the Biden administration plans to review the criteria for which the leases and drilling permits are given. Oklahoma City’s Devon Energy is one of the drilling firms with hundreds of such permits already approved.
Source: POLITICO