Amidst a flurry of activity at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency finalized a long-awaited update to its onshore oil and gas leasing rule. The rule formalizes the agency’s approach to legislated reforms contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and advances further reforms aimed at limiting speculation that allowed oil and gas companies to claim assets they had no intention of developing while locking up lands that could be used for conservation and recreation, discouraging permit hoarding, and expanding operator liability for well cleanup. The suite of reforms contained in the rule represents the culmination of decades of community advocacy and red flags by government watchdogs.
On the IRA side of the ledger, the rule provides important implementing provisions on:
- Oil and gas royalty rates, which will rise from 12.5 percent to 16.67 percent—or at least…