An exemption for Native American lands in the Biden Administration’s executive order (EO) pausing new leasing on federal lands is “highly significant” for North Dakota’s Bakken Shale play, according to the state’s top oil and natural gas regulator.

Federal acreage

Biden’s order directed to the Interior Department’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management “does not restrict energy activities on lands the government holds in trust for Native American tribes,” according to a Federal Register description. Mineral ownership in North Dakota is overwhelmingly (85%) private, 9% federal, which is 95% Native American, and 6% state-owned.

The EO followed a separate 60-day freeze by acting DOI Secretary Scott de la Vega on new leases as well as drilling permits on existing leases.

Lynn Helms,...