Biden administration proposes raising costs of oil and gas leasing

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Biden administration proposes raising costs of oil and gas leasing

Despite high gasoline prices that have spurred calls to increase domestic production, the Biden administration issued a long-awaited blueprint for raising the costs of oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters Friday.

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The Interior Department report recommends higher fees and higher limits on federal oil and gas leasing to better account for climate change and ensure a higher return to taxpayers. The analysis is the culmination of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices that President Joe Biden ordered in January.

The Interior Department said its 18-sided blueprint could modernize oil and gas leasing programs to restore balance and transparency to public land and ocean management and deliver a fair and equitable return to American taxpayers. The report said that the current program doesn't serve the public interest and shortchanges taxpayers.

Among the changes recommended are raising the royalties that energy companies pay for the oil and gas they extract and boosting rental payments. The agency has recommended new restrictions on what land is made available for oil and gas development, a move that is a big change from the current practice in which most federal lands are open.

If fully enacted, the changes would winnow the land available for oil and gas development and raise the costs of that activity even where new leases are sold. The Interior Department could make some changes - such as increasing royalty rates on its own through regulations. Many of the proposed policy pivots would require Congress to act.

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