Happy Monday and welcome back to another week of ESC News Blog.
Back at the
end of August (August 28th) we blogged about the Gulf of Mexico’s Lease Sale 261 and how the Department of
Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) was being sued by the
environmentalists and the Oil and Gas Industry for changing the acreage and making
new terms for the lease sale. The Oil
and Gas Industry’s case had its day in court last Thursday in Louisiana.
Did anyone see
results of the case in The Houston Chronicle’s Business Section on September
23, 2023, they reprinted an article from the Associated Press titled, “Judge
rejects oil lease plan to save whales”?
In the article, it speaks about the Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale
261, which is scheduled for this Wednesday, September 27, 2023, and how the
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana struck down the reduced
acreage and revisions the BOEM placed on the Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale. U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Lease Sale 261 had run into a snag because
of Rice’sWhale which is an endangered species.
The BOEM had reduced the acreage from 73
million acres to 67 million acres due to their agreement to settle a lawsuit
with environmentalists about the protected whales. The BOEM made some other revisions which
included new speed limits, and new rules for personnel on industry vessels
which were meant to protect the whales. The Honorable Judge, James David Cain, Jr., ruled
the BOEM must return to the original lease sale terms and acreage announced back
in March. The BOEM and the environmentalists
have already filed their appeal with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in New Orleans on Friday. It will
be interesting to see how this will play out over the next few days with the
lease sale scheduled for later this week. If you would like to read more of Associated Press’ article, please click
the link: Judge blocks government plan to scale back Gulf oil lease sale to protect whalespecies | AP News.
If you would
like help in looking into how to transport your product or help with your
carbon-foot print, contact us via the email in the blog and check out our ESC's website!
We hope you have a wonderful evening and a great week!
**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read the Associated
Press’ article. **