Companies have offered bids on more than 2,600 square miles (6,700 square kilometers) of federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in a sale mandated by last year's climate bill compromise.
Yet analyst Sami Yahya said approval of the ConocoPhillips Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska bodes well for the industry and prospects for future leasing.
The measure prohibited leasing public lands for renewable power unless tens of millions of acres are first offered for fossil fuels. That was a concession to get support fromThe climate law also raised the royalty rate companies must pay on oil they produce. The Biden administration set the rate for Wednesday’s sale at the maximum allowed — 18.75%, versus 12.5% historically — yet that did not appear to curb interest.
Sea level rise is a factor in Louisiana’s steady loss of coastal wetlands, which in addition to harboring a variety of fisheries and wildlife, provide a buffer between inland population areas and hurricanes that scientists say are growing stronger as the world warms.Louisiana’s complicated relationship with the industry also is illustrated by lawsuits filed by coastal parishes over decades of alleged damage to wetlands from dredging canals to service oil and gas drilling.
The carbon dioxide would be carried away in pipelines and injected deep under the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, a process known as carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS. Oil and gas companies are banking on carbon capture to extend the lifespan of their fossil fuel facilities, but critics say the technology is unproven and less effective than switching to renewable wind and solar energy.All the leases being sold are for oil and gas exploration and development only, federal officials said.
ExxonMobil spokesperson Todd Spitler declined to say if there was a link between its bids and the ship channel proposal.
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