On Wednesday, April 21, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it would not hold its second quarter oil and gas lease sales amid ongoing review of the federal oil and gas leasing program, including potential climate impacts.  The pause does not affect current operations or permits for existing leases, which can still be reviewed.

In response to the BLM’s announcement, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon issued the following statement:

The announcement by the Bureau of Land Management “to not hold” the second quarter oil and gas lease sale due to an ongoing review ordered by President Biden is disappointing, disheartening, and not surprising. Federal reviews of anything typically take months, and sometimes years.

What is most disappointing is that the Department of Interior could have chosen to review the federal oil and gas leasing program while conducting quarterly sales. Instead, they chose to tighten the financial choke of revenue that would normally flow to the state from lease sales, all the while refraining from consulting with the very states and communities that are directly impacted by these decisions.

Over the past eight years, Wyoming has received, on average, $35 million annually from oil and gas lease sales on federal lands. This year, we have received zero, because the first and second quarter lease sales have been indefinitely postponed.

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