Decision helps ConocoPhillips proceed with giant North Slope oil drilling. Environmentalists say they will appeal a project they call a ‘carbon bomb.’
Biden had promised to end new oil drilling on federal land. But ConocoPhillips has held leases to drill from the region since the late 1990s, which the president and legal experts said limited his ability to reject the project. He also faced strong political pressure to approve it from key lawmakers in Alaska.
I didnt know this context.
Did he promise this before or after selling the rights to the rest of our untapped oil spots around the US coast?Actually, offshore leasing dropped to the legally required minimum.
The key problem Biden has had is that he doesn’t have the legal authority to refuse drilling permits once a lease is issued. The result has been a huge flush of drilling permits as oil companies rush to go get them before we have the power to change that situation.
Oh thank you. I was a bit misinformed there.