Happy Monday and welcome back to another week of ESC News Blog.
Well, we knew
that the saga would continue and looks like the next chapter has been unleashed.
Let’s give you a little recap! Back at
the end of August the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management (BOEM) was being sued by the Oil and Gas Industry for reducing the
acreage by about 6 million acres and making new terms and restrictions for the
lease sale because of the endangered species which lives in the northern Gulf
of Mexico and the environmentalists sued to stop the sale and the revised terms
were part of an agreement with them to hold the lease sale. The Oil and Gas Industry’s case had its day
in court on September 21, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western
District of Louisiana and the Honorable Judge, James David Cain, Jr., ruled the
BOEM must return to the original lease sale terms and acreage announced back in
March because the changes came at the last minute and the proper steps were not
taken. By the end of the week the BOEM filed
an emergency request to allow the sale to proceed, but leave the new restrictions,
and the environmentalist also filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans.
The following week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th
Circuit sent down a ruling delaying the September 27, 2023, Oil and Gas Lease Sale
261 to November 8, 2023, to allow for them to consider the request. Now you are up to date in this saga.
Did anyone see
The Houston Chronicle’s Business Section on October 28, 2023, they had an
article titled, “5th Circuit ruling puts Gulf oil, gas lease sale in
jeopardy”? In the article, it speaks
about the Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 261, which was scheduled for Wednesday, November
8, 2023, and how arguments for the emergency request have been set for November
13, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th
Circuit has been stayed by the court for now.
The court’s ruling on October 26, 2023, to stop the sale for now seems
to have thrown everyone for a loop! The Energy
Natural Resource Committee believes the sale should go on as originally posted before
the revised sale terms in August as specified in the Inflation Reduction Act
and after the hearing they had on Thursday, October 26, 2023. It will be interesting to see how this will
play out in regard to will or won't the scheduled lease sale happen! If you would like to read more of The Houston Chronicle’s article, please
click the link: Gulf lease sale in jeopardy after stay by 5th Circuit (houstonchronicle.com).
Check out our
blog at the August and September for more details about this saga.
If you would
like help in looking into how to transport your product or help reduce your
carbon-foot print, contact us via email in the blog and check out our ESC's website!
We hope you have a wonderful evening and a great week! Keep warm!
**Disclaimer: You may be charged a fee to read The
Houston Chronicle’s article. **