Legal Challenge Filed Against Biden Administration Over Offshore Oil Drilling Restrictions

The American Petroleum Institute (API), the largest fossil fuel industry association in the United States, has filed a legal challenge against the Biden administration over its offshore oil and gas leasing program. The program, which includes the fewest number of lease sales in U.S. history, has been criticized for putting American consumers at risk and threatening U.S. energy security.

The DOI’s (Department of the Interior) finalized the five-year plan in December, scheduling just three Gulf of Mexico lease sales through 2029. This marks the fewest number of sales ever included in such a plan. The administration’s plan also rules out any leasing off the Alaskan coast and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, a departure from previous plans.

Ryan Meyers, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at API, stated, “Demand for affordable, reliable energy is only growing, yet this administration has used every tool at its disposal to restrict access to vast energy resources in federal waters.” He continued, “In issuing a five-year program with the fewest lease sales in history, the administration is limiting access in a region responsible for generating among the lowest carbon-intensive barrels in the world, putting American consumers at greater risk of relying on foreign sources for our future energy needs.”

The Biden administration’s oil leasing program finalized late last year represents a departure from past plans issued by Democratic and Republican administrations. Under the administration’s plan, the DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold the three sales of parcels in the Gulf of Mexico in 2025, 2027, and 2029. It also rules out any leasing off the Alaskan coast and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The DOI signaled that it could have pursued an even more restrictive five-year program if not for the Inflation Reduction Act. That legislation, Democrats’ $739 billion climate and tax package signed by President Biden in 2022, ties new offshore wind energy leases to new oil and gas leases, meaning the former could be threatened without consistent fossil fuel leasing.

The persistent delay in issuing a replacement plan, though, represented a departure from precedent set by both Republican and Democratic administrations, which have historically finalized replacements immediately after previous plans expired. The most recent two plans, both formulated under the Obama administration, included more than 10 offshore oil and gas lease sales each. And the Trump administration sought to hold a total of 47 lease sales across the Atlantic region, the Pacific region, and the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska’s coasts between 2022 and 2027, but that proposal was axed after Biden took office in 2021.

Meyers, from API, said on Monday, “Today, we are taking action to challenge this shortsighted program so that future generations of Americans will continue to benefit from our energy advantage for decades to come.” The DOI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

The American people have a decision to make before they go to the polls this November. If they want more of the Democrats’ policies of America and Americans last, they will vote for Democrats. If they are sick and tired of being taxed to death and being treated last, then they will vote for Republicans. Biden and his kind are against America being energy independent.

The lawsuit proves that the Biden administration is doing everything it can to raise the price of oil, which is the major inflationary factor in the economy. Everything that is shipped is impacted. This is on purpose. Man-made climate change will go down as the biggest con of the 21st Century. Man’s contribution to or ability to stop climate change is insignificant. Earth’s glacial and interglacial periods are primarily the result of cyclical changes in the Earth’s circumnavigation of the Sun called the Milankovitch cycles.

The American people need to understand that the Biden administration is not acting in their best interests. They are acting in the interests of their radical left-wing base. The Biden administration is trying to do as much damage to the US economy as possible in the 9 months they have left to infest the White House before Trump wins in November.

We need to get politicians out of the market. They have no expertise yet they demand we use technology that doesn’t exist. The Biden administration is even plunging right ahead with fighting Supreme Court rulings they disagree with. I’ve never seen anything like it!

Man, that was NOT caused by SUVs. The Earth’s climate has been changing for billions of years. We are in an interglacial period now, which is a warm period between glacial periods. The Earth’s climate has been warmer and cooler throughout history. We are in a warming trend now, but it is not man-made. It is natural.

We need to focus on adapting to the changing climate rather than trying to stop it. We can’t stop it anyway. We need to invest in technologies that will help us adapt to the changing climate, such as renewable energy, energy storage, and carbon capture and storage. We also need to invest in infrastructure that will help us adapt to the changing climate, such as sea walls, flood barriers, and drought-resistant crops.

The Biden administration’s restrictions on offshore oil drilling are not only harmful to American consumers and energy security, but they are also harmful to the environment. Offshore oil drilling can be done safely and responsibly. The oil industry has made great strides in reducing its environmental footprint in recent years. We need to continue to invest in technologies that will help us reduce the environmental impact of offshore oil drilling, such as subsea drilling and floating production systems.

In conclusion, the Biden administration’s restrictions on offshore oil drilling are harmful to American consumers and energy security, and they are also harmful to the environment. The American people need to understand that the Biden administration is not acting in their best interests and that they need to vote for candidates who will support American energy production and invest in technologies that will help us adapt to the changing climate. The lawsuit filed by the American Petroleum Institute is an important step in challenging the Biden administration’s shortsighted program and ensuring that future generations of Americans will continue to benefit from our energy advantage for decades to come.