Interior Department Streamlines Oil and Gas Leasing Process on Public Lands

In a significant policy shift, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) policy update designed to expedite the oil and gas leasing process on public lands. Through a newly issued Instruction Memorandum "Oil and Gas Leasing – Land Use Planning and Lease Parcel Reviews," the BLM is committing to faster lease parcel reviews by aiming to complete the entire process within six months.

In announcing the policy update, the Interior Department stated that the initiative supports the Trump Administration's energy dominance agenda and aims to increase the availability of onshore federal lands for oil and gas leasing, reduce bureaucratic delays and enhance public engagement, as well as reinforce national efforts to boost job creation, lower energy costs and strengthen U.S. energy dominance.

Key Policy Changes

• The BLM will now complete parcel reviews and offer parcels for oil and gas lease sales within a six-month timeframe from the start of scoping until the lease sale – cutting the previous eight- to 15-month timeline nearly in half.
• The BLM will no longer defer parcels prior to completing all National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews. Instead, oil and gas lease parcel reviews will be conducted and documented simultaneously with the NEPA compliance process and utilize existing NEPA analysis to support the identification and subsequent leasing of parcels to avoid duplicative environmental reviews.
• The BLM's review of lease sale parcels will be based on existing land management policy and resource management plans, which should further streamline the process.
• The policy update states that the new policy reinforces the BLM's statutory requirement to hold quarterly lease sales when eligible lands are available for lease.

Holland & Knight will continue to monitor the implementation of this policy update and provide further insights as developments occur. For specific questions about how these changes may affect your operations or investment strategies, please contact Holland & Knight's Energy Team.

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