WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), blasted the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for ignoring the deadline to announce onshore oil and gas lease sales for the first quarter of this year.

“The Biden administration continues to defy the courts and the law,” said Barrasso. “The BLM has blown past a critical deadline required to hold the first federal onshore oil and gas lease sale this year. As a result, Wyoming and other Western states will now miss oil and gas lease sales for the fifth quarter in a row. Even in the face of a global energy crisis, historic inflation, and skyrocketing gasoline prices, the Biden administration continues to crush U.S. energy production.” 

Background Information:

BLM is required by the Mineral Leasing Act to hold onshore oil and gas lease sales on a quarterly basis. This statute also requires BLM to publish a public notice of sale at least 45 days before the sale is held. This week, BLM missed the deadline to publish a notice of sale in time to hold a lease sale in the first quarter of this year.

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