Scalise, other fossil fuel advocates aim ire at Interior over oil and gas leasing delays

The December target drew a rebuke from Scalise, the House Majority Leader and a Republican from Jefferson Parish.

Scalise said the Biden administration has “no regard for its legal obligation” to release a five-year offshore leasing plan.

“In yet another blow to American energy security, the Biden administration delivered a gut punch to American families and small businesses that rely on affordable energy by delaying once again the next five-year offshore leasing plan, which now marks an 18-month delay,” Scalise said in a statement.

The “unprecedented lapse” of the five-year plan has created too much uncertainty for the fossil fuel industry, said Tommy Faucheux, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.

“We need clear guidelines from the administration and a robust leasing program in place to establish a clear path to American energy security and meet American energy needs with stable, reliable and affordable energy,” Faucheux said in a statement.

Interior’s admission also drew the ire of Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat whose push for fossil fuel support in the Inflation Reduction Act served as a linchpin for the legislation’s successful passage last year.

“Monday night, the Department of the Interior made it painfully clear — again — that they are putting their radical climate agenda ahead of our nation’s energy security, and they are willing to go to great lengths to do it,” Manchin said in a statement.

Officials from Friends of the Earth, an environmental group, said Manchin’s anger is “laughable” because of the “dirty energy giveaways” provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.”

“Economic realities — not regulation — are responsible for any supposed slowdown,” Nicole Ghio, senior fossil fuels program Manager at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement. “For the sake of our planet, the Biden administration must not give into Manchin on behalf of Big Oil. Instead, it should evaluate the true costs of offshore drilling and issuing a five-year plan with no new oil and gas leases.”