The Biden administration on Friday said it has resumed plans for oil and gas development on federal lands, a move that could break a pledge Joe Biden made while campaigning for president.
The plan calls for the government to lease fewer hectares for drilling than initially proposed, charge steeper royalties to oil and gas companies, and assess the climate impact of developing the land.
The proposal was quickly denounced by several environmental groups, with one calling it "a reckless failure of climate leadership". Oil industry groups praised the move but said it did not go far enough.
The announcement by the Interior Department, made late on Friday before a holiday weekend, is the latest move to reform the federal oil and gas leasing programme since Mr Biden took office in January 2021.
The administration has faced ongoing pressure to address high energy prices driven by the economic rebound from the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Biden had pledged several times during his presidential campaign to halt federal drilling auctions, but that effort has been stymied by a court challenge from Republican-led states.
During a campaign event in Hudson, New Hampshire, in February 2020, Mr Biden told the audience: "And by the way — no more drilling on federal lands, period. Period, period, period.”
The administration has taken several steps to tame surging gasoline prices and inflation, made worse by crude oil prices spiking because of war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russia by the US and its allies.
Inflation is regarded as a significant liability for Democrats heading into the November mid-term elections.
Friday's announcement would make roughly 58,275 hectares available for oil and gas drilling through a series of lease sales, an 80 per cent reduction from the footprint of land that had been under evaluation for leasing, the Interior Department said in a statement.
It would also require companies to pay royalties of 18.75 per cent of the value of extracted oil and gas products, up from 12.5 per cent.
"How we manage our public lands and waters says everything about what we value as a nation," said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who added that the move would "begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans' resources for the benefit of all current and future generations".
The agency will issue final environmental assessments and sale notices for upcoming oil and gas lease sales as early as next week, including ensuring tribal consultation and broad community input, the Interior Department said.
The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, criticised the government's decision.
“The Biden administration’s claim that it must hold these lease sales is pure fiction and a reckless failure of climate leadership,” said Randi Spivak, public lands director for the group.
“It’s as if they’re ignoring the horror of firestorms, floods and megadroughts, and accepting climate catastrophes as business as usual."
The move was praised by the energy industry as a step in the right direction.
"To really unleash American energy, the Biden administration should continue to hold ongoing lease sales pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act, issue permits more expeditiously, and provide consistent regulatory certainty,” said Anne Bradbury, head of the American Exploration & Production Council, whose members include ConocoPhillips, Pioneer Natural Resources and Chesapeake Energy.
