Ken Salazar’s Offshore Charade Continues?

by ~ The Rebel ~ Posted 2012/06/26 16:07:17

Related Topics: Obama, Mexico, Obama Administration, Gas, Oil, President Obama, Atlantic, 2008, Gulf Of Mexico, Delayed, Bush, Western

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The Interior Department’s lease sales this week in the Central Gulf of Mexico received the highest bids to explore for oil and gas there in at least three decades. This result seemed to surprise Secretary of Interior Salazar. But it should not come as a shock. Under Secretary Salazar’s leadership, the Department of Interior (DOI) has cancelled and delayed lease sales in the Gulf since the beginning of the Obama Administration, resulting in fewer opportunities to purchase leases, so demand has been backed up waiting for a sale.

The last approved 5-year plan for lease sales in the OCS was developed for the 5-year period between 2007 and 2012 during the Bush Administration. That plan called for 21 lease sales in the OCS, of which all but 6 would take place during the next administration. Nine of those 15 planned to be held between 2009 and 2012 were cancelled by the Obama Administration as shown in the table below. As a result of postponements and cancellations, FY 2011 contained no lease sales.

Table A: Proposed Final Program for 2007-2012—Lease Sale Schedule

Sale No.	Area	Year
204	Western Gulf of Mexico	2007
205	Central Gulf of Mexico	2007
193	Chukchi Sea	2008
206	Central Gulf of Mexico	2008
224	Eastern Gulf of Mexico	2008
207	Western Gulf of Mexico	2008
~ PRESIDENT OBAMA TAKES OFFICE ~
208	Central Gulf of Mexico	2009
209	Beaufort Sea	2009 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
210	Western Gulf of Mexico	2009
211	Cook Inlet	2009 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
212	Chukchi Sea	2010 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
213	Central Gulf of Mexico	2010
215	Western Gulf of Mexico	2010 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
216	Central Gulf of Mexico	2011 – Delayed until June 20, 2012
217	Beaufort Sea	2011 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
214	North Aleutian Basin	2011 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
218	Western Gulf of Mexico	2011
219	Cook Inlet	2011 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
220	Mid-Atlantic	2011 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
221	Chukchi Sea	2012 – Cancelled by Obama Administration
222	Central Gulf of Mexico	2012