Houston Chronicle by Paul Takahashi 1/29/2021
President Joe Biden’s one-year moratorium on new leases for fossil fuel extraction from federal lands and waters will have a minimal, short-term impact on oil and gas companies that long anticipated such a move.
But if the ban on new leases were extended over Biden’s presidency, as analysts widely believe could happen, it would have a profound effect on oil and gas companies, particularly shale drillers in the Permian Basin and offshore producers in the Gulf of Mexico. A permanent federal ban, analysts said, would threaten the primary economic engine of Houston — the so-called “energy capital of the world.â€
“If it’s only a one-year moratorium, it’s going to have a negligible effect,†said Tom Kellock, director of offshore-rig market consulting for IHS Markit. “But if it’s long-term, it’s one more nail in the coffin for the oil and gas business.â€
The oil and gas industry, already battered by the pandemic’s economic downturn, faces increasing regulations under the Biden administration, which has made addressing climate change a priority. The president in his first week in office issued a flurry of executive actions to fulfill campaign promises, including a 60-day review of new drilling permits on federal lands and a call to eliminate tax incentives for the oil and gas industry.
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Biden-executive-orders-nail-in-coffin-oil-and-gas-15906911.php