Federal Lands

New Mexico’s Permian Basin has feathered the state’s coffers and built the nation’s oil reserves, but if the Biden administration implements a ban of federal permitting, the region’s economy could take a sharp hit, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The Biden administration in late January directed the Department of the Interior to…

The harsh winter weather encountered in Texas last week took a bite out of Permian Basin giant Pioneer Natural Resources Co.’s oil production, but the company should make up the loss and more in 2021, CEO Scott Sheffield said Wednesday. The winter storm last week knocked out about 30,000 b/d of oil output, but most…

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. Biden’s order directed to the Interior Department’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management “does not restrict energy activities…

Environmental groups that sued to throw out a federal plan allowing new exploration and mining on public lands heralded a recent win in court that they said was vital to protect greater sage grouse. A federal judge on Thursday overturned a Trump administration decision to jettison sage grouse protections from 10 million acres in the…

Just days before ConocoPhillips’ Alaska division was slated to begin construction of the long-planned Willow project, a federal judge ordered a delay in response to a lawsuit by environmental groups that alleges former President Trump’s administration overlooked wildlife and climate change impacts. In a decision issued last week, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason temporarily…

The U.S. oil and gas industry reacted with dismay and the first of perhaps multiple lawsuits Wednesday ahead of an executive order (EO) by President Biden directing the Department of the Interior (DOI) to pause new oil and natural gas leasing on federal lands and offshore waters. The EO published Wednesday afternoon follows a 60-day…

President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday unveiled his picks for the top climate and energy posts in his administration, leaving little doubt of an impending sea change in federal policy when he takes office on Jan. 20. The nominations and appointments comprise U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), Department of the Interior (DOI) secretary; former…

The Trump administration on Monday began a formal push that possibly could allow oil and natural gas leases to be auctioned in Alaska’s pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) before Joseph R. Biden Jr. is sworn into office in January. According to a preliminary notice in the Federal Register to be published on Tuesday, the…

U.S. oil and gas permitting on federal lands jumped 8% in September from August, with Texas operators posting the largest increase since March, according to a monthly tally by Evercore ISI. The firm every month compiles permit data from federal and state sources, which provides a bird’s eye view of where drilling by exploration and…