On his first full day in office, President Biden indicated that the moderate Joe Biden we were all expecting might not be appearing on oil and gas issues and his administration’s energy policies would be informed by the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party. On January 21, an acting Secretary of the Interior issued Order 3395, which imposes a 60-day pause on the issuance of new leases and permits for oil and gas drilling on federal lands and offshore, without being approved by one of nine senior Department of the Interior officials. While no guidance has been issued and the secretary order is not entirely clear, in practice, existing operations on current leases will continue, and it has been reported that several operators have been issued new permits for ongoing operations. Continue reading >