Offshore staff
NEW ORLEANS – The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has indefinitely stayed an earlier order requiring the Biden administration to hold a November oil lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, though it is unclear whether the administration will immediately proceed with the sale.
The Interior Department is required to hold the lease sale under the text of the Inflation Reduction Act. This August, the administration had announced that it would shrink the leasing area by about six million acres, citing dangers to the habitat of the Rice’s whale.
The following month, however, the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana blocked the restriction and ordered the sale to include those six million acres. Judge James Cain sided with plaintiffs including the state of Louisiana and energy companies, writing they “have demonstrated substantial potential costs.” The sale, which was initially given a deadline of Sept. 27, was later pushed back to Nov. 8.
On Oct. 26, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the earlier order until it reaches a decision on an appeal of the order by conservation groups. Oral arguments in the appeal are set for Nov. 13.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has called on the Biden administration to move forward with the sale within two weeks. At issue is an offshore oil lease sale that could be the last of its kind until 2025. Manchin successfully led the drive for legal mandates compelling that auction as part of the IRA legislation.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department has reportedly declined to comment on whether the lease sale will still take place as scheduled Nov. 8, stating only that the agency was reviewing the decision.
10.30.2023
