On January 20, President Trump issued several executive orders taking aim at former President Biden’s offshore oil and gas development bans, as well as overturning several other actions designed to boost climate protections....more
In his final days in office, President Joe Biden has exercised his executive authority to withdraw more than 625 million acres of federal waters from future oil and gas leasing – the largest withdrawal of its kind in U.S....more
On January 6, President Biden announced an executive action affecting offshore drilling prior to the end of his term. Biden has issued a decree that will “permanently ban” new offshore oil and gas development in large...more
The United States Department of the Interior published the final well control rule on Aug. 22 from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). The rule clarifies blowout preventer (BOP) system regulations and...more
The California coast is home to some of the best offshore wind resources in the country. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that California's coast has a resource potential of 201,000 megawatts (MW) of...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (the Act), which passed the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7, 2022, requires that previously announced offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska be held during the next two years....more
The U.S. Department of the Interior on July 1, 2022, released its long-awaited update on the next Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) five-year proposed offshore drilling program (Program), a day after the previous program expired....more
In the first week of his presidency, President Biden, by Executive Order, set a goal of doubling offshore wind by 2030—an ambitious goal to help put the United States on a path to meet its commitments under the Paris Climate...more
As reported in the last edition of The Climate Report, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia (collectively, "Plaintiff States") filed...more
On June 11, 2021, the US Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a proposed sale notice to sell commercial wind energy leases on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York...more
Federal Law Challenges by State Attorneys General - Attorneys General Challenge “Tax Mandate” Portion of American Rescue Plan - On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) earlier this year for the first time expressly found that the Jones Act applies to transportation of merchandise from a U.S. port to a location on the U.S. outer continental shelf...more
On January 27, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order — effective immediately — directing the Secretary of the Interior to pause new oil and natural gas leases on federal public lands or offshore waters to the extent...more
With U.S. President Joe Biden taking office in January 2021, many energy industry participants have questions regarding how new federal policy may adversely affect oil and gas operators pursuing exploration and development...more
Through the last several Administrations (Democrat and Republican) the mantra has been “we support an all-of-the-above strategy” to meet U.S. energy needs. Expect that to change. The Biden Administration’s focus will shift to...more
As the 2020 presidential campaign made clear, President-elect Biden plans to usher in a sharp shift in policy priorities across the federal government. We anticipate significant changes in the management of federal public...more
President-elect Biden will assume office in January, 2021, with a divided nation, the global coronavirus pandemic, and a domestic energy market in a distressed state. The new administration will need to oversee the management...more