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Oil, Gas Industry Stockpiled Drilling Leases Before Biden ‘Pause’

"MS. PSAKI: Well, there are 9000 approved oil leases that the oil companies are not tapping into currently. So I would ask them that question.

MS. HEINRICH: Is there nothing that the administration can do to get those providers back to pre-pandemic levels?

MS. PSAKI: Do you think the oil companies don’t have enough money to drill on the places that have been preapproved?

MS. HEINRICH: Just asking.

MS. PSAKI: I would, I would point that question to them and we can talk about it more tomorrow when you learn more."
Your link - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/just-asking-fox-news-reporter-taken-aback-when-psaki-throws-question-back-at-her-in-withering-fashion/ar-AAUzBPB?ocid=msedgntp

Jan. 29, 2021, 8:09 AM

[...]

There’s a good reason many stockpiled leases remain undeveloped: there may be no oil and gas to be found there, or companies discover that it’s not economically feasible to drill, said Angela Franklin, a partner at Holland and Hart LLP in Salt Lake City who represents industry clients.

“We don’t get to pick and choose where the oil is located,” she said, adding that there’s a “tremendous amount of acres that is not developed and may never be developed” because companies haven’t found oil or gas. It’s also possible companies have leases on too little land in one place to justify drilling there, she said.
Clear Message

Environmentalists don’t buy that rhetoric.

“I think the volume of acres and permits already not being used tells us their pace of drilling to date has not allowed the industry to use all the acreage and permits available,” said Nada Culver, senior policy counsel for the National Audubon Society.

“As a result, the industry is unlikely to experience some kind of immediate, devastating impact from the Executive Order,” she said.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/oil-gas-industry-stockpiled-drilling-leases-before-biden-pause