The U.S. Interior Department took initial steps on Oct. 6 toward holding oil and gas drilling auctions in New Mexico, Wyoming and the Gulf of Mexico in the coming months.
Terms of the onshore sales will reflect new requirements under President Joe Biden’s new climate change and drug pricing law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including higher royalty rates, minimum bids and rents, Interior said.
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management said it was seeking public input for 30 days on a plan to offer 251,086 acres in Wyoming and 10,124 acres in New Mexico to oil and gas companies.