Skip to main content
We may receive compensation from affiliate partners for some links on this site. Read our full Disclosure here.

Judge Axes Biden’s Plan to Cripple Oil Industry


The Biden administration had plans to restrict new oil drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

These projects were put into motion during President Trump’s time in office.

A federal judge has ruled that Biden must proceed with the lease sale of the oil rigs by September 30th and adhere to the original conditions.

More from the folks over at Fox News:

A federal court struck down the Biden administration’s last-minute restrictions on an upcoming offshore oil and gas lease sale in a ruling late Thursday evening.

Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana granted a preliminary injunction request from plaintiffs — the State of Louisiana, industry association American Petroleum Institute (API) and oil companies Chevron and Shell — to block the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) restrictions on Lease Sale 261. The lease sale spanning millions of acres across the Gulf of Mexico is slated for next week.

Cain ruled the federal government must proceed with the lease sale by Sept. 30 under its original conditions. As a result of a July settlement with environmental groups, BOEM removed about six million acres from the sale and imposed various restrictions on oil and gas vessels associated with the leases auctioned to protect the Rice’s whale species found in parts of the Gulf of Mexico.

“The court observes that plaintiffs have demonstrated substantial potential costs resulting from the challenged provisions,” Cain wrote in his decision. “While the government defendants largely focus on the acreage withdrawal and dynamics of the sale itself, many of plaintiffs’ alleged hardships arise from the vessel restrictions.”

“Industry plaintiffs have shown a likelihood that these will burden their operations on current and planned leases,” the ruling continued. “The resulting costs would not be undone by the court’s entry of a permanent injunction and order of another sale.”

Cain also said the Biden administration’s actions appeared to be an attempt to “provide scientific justification to a political reassessment of offshore drilling.” And he said the administration’s process looked “more like a weaponization of the Endangered Species Act than the collaborative, reasoned approach prescribed by the applicable laws and regulations.”

In a statement following the ruling Thursday, API Senior Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers said it was a positive step in ensuring energy security.

This is excellent news for everyone.

More sources of oil would mean that gas prices will lower in the U.S.

Otherwise, we would continue to see something like this:

More from The Hill:

Cain ordered the administration to proceed with the sale, which had been scheduled for Sept. 27, by Sept. 30.

He wrote that the state and energy companies “have demonstrated substantial potential costs” due to the changes to the sale.

The decision was celebrated by the oil and gas industry.

“The injunction is a necessary and welcome response from the court to an unnecessary decision by the Biden administration,” said Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, in a written statement.

“The removal of millions of highly prospective acres and the imposition of excessive restrictions stemmed from a voluntary agreement with activist groups that circumvented the law, ignored science, and bypassed public input,” Milito added.

On the other hand, environmental advocates expressed concerns about the potential impacts that oil and gas activities would have on the endangered whales.

“The oil and gas industry’s greed is astounding, and I’m heartbroken that oil executives won’t make even minor accommodations to protect a whale from going extinct,” said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a written statement.

Everyone should be cheering that Biden’s plans have been thwarted.

He is getting desperate, with the clock ticking on his administration.

With increasingly radical legislation like the executive creation of the Civilian Climate Corps.

The 2024 election can not arrive sooner.



 

Join the conversation!

Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!

Leave a comment
Thanks for sharing!