Biden administration ends moratorium on drilling leases on federal land


The Biden administration announced Friday it would resume selling leases for oil and gas drilling on federal land, albeit at a higher cost to energy companies and with less available land, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Per the Journal, royalties will increase from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent of the value of any oil or gas extracted, while the acreage available for drilling leases has been reduced by around 80 percent from the amount previously under evaluation.
President Biden announced a moratorium on new drilling leases on federal land the day he took office, but a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the moratorium in June after 13 Republican attorneys general sued.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Department of the Interior allowed lease sales to resume after Judge Terry Doughty of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled that the plaintiff states had "a reliance interest in the proceeds derived from offshore and on land oil and gas lease sales," NBC News reported at the time of the ruling.
It is unclear if the plaintiffs will continue with the ongoing lawsuit after the Biden administration's announcement on Friday, the Journal reported.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise win
TALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
How to make music part of your vacation
Let the rhythm move you
-
What is credit card churning and why is it risky?
the explainer Churners frequently open new credit cards with the intent of earning a welcome bonus and accessing other perks
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from