The state of Louisiana, American Petroleum Institute and Chevron last week filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior secretary and other officials over what the plaintiffs say were last-minute changes to a major offshore lease sale.
The lawsuit filed August 24 in the Western District of Louisiana claims the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in recent days has dramatically shrunk the acreage included in Lease Sale 261 in the central and western areas of the Gulf of Mexico and added discriminatory restrictions to the sale terms.
Federal officials greatly expanded an area in the eastern section of the Gulf of Mexico where protections are in force to protect the habitat of the Rice’s Whale, causing the oil lease sale acreage to be reduced in size to accommodate the new habitat protections, according to the lawsuit.
“Specifically, BOEM imposed a new lease stipulation … containing burdensome operating restrictions across a newly defined and vastly enlarged ‘expanded Rice’s Whale area’ that more than doubled the size of the former Rice’s Whale area and extended it across the entire stretch of the Gulf,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit alleges these changes are at odds with the “letter and spirit” of Congress’ instructions as laid out in the Inflation Reduction Act. In addition, the changes will lead to major restrictions on energy industry vessels that won’t apply to vessels in other industries, according to the complaint.
“We are continuing to evaluate the impact of these restrictions on the Gulf Coast economy,” Andrea Woods, an API spokeswoman, told the Louisiana Record in an email. Woods also pointed to a 2022 study API released with Energy & Industrial Advisory Partners that was commissioned by the National Ocean Industries Association. That report identifies the economic impact of delays in the traditional five-year lease program for the Gulf of Mexico.
“Louisiana is projected to see average annual supported employment decline from around 106,000 jobs (in 2024) to 92,000 jobs (a 13% decline) in 2029 when the maximum impact is felt,” the study examining state-by-state effects to delayed offshore lease sales states.
A BOEM spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation.