"Do Drillers Want What Uncle Sam Is Selling?"

"On March 21, the Department of Interior will hold the largest auction of offshore leases in U.S. history, including all unleased areas on the Gulf of Mexico’s outer continental shelf. But do energy extractors actually want such land and waters?"

"When Donald J. Trump was running for president, it was hard to pin down his stance on drilling for oil and gas on public lands. His son, Don, Jr., talked of striking a thoughtful balance, even as the candidate spoke rapturously of “sweet, beautiful oil.”

That ambiguity is gone.

In the first half of this year, the Trump Administration will open up more acres for potential oil and gas leasing across much of the West than it offered there in all of 2017, according to an analysis of government auction data by environmental group WildEarth Guardians. That comes atop an already 56-percent increase in acreage auctioned off in 2017 over what the Obama Administration offered in its final year, according to an analysis of similar data by the Center for Biological Diversity."

Christopher Solomon reports for Outside March 13, 2018.

SEE ALSO:

"ANWR: Little Drilling Expected Before 2030; Murkowski Seeks New Bill" (E&E Daily)

"Oil: Trump Plan Ignores Limited Potential Off Most Of Alaska" (EnergyWire)

"Trump Plan To Expand Oil And Gas Leasing In West Draws, For The Most Part, A Big Yawn From Industry" (Los Angeles Times)

"Alaskan Oil Lease Sale Brings Few Bids Despite Vast Territory Offered" (Business Insider)