US Interior Secretary: New Oil Lease Plan May Include Closed Areas

The U.S. Secretary of the Interior Wednesday ordered the agency to start preparing a new five-year oil and natural gas lease sale program that will include areas currently under a congressional moratorium.

The announcement will likely ratchet up the pressure on Democrats in Congress who have been under an concerted attack by Republicans to lift the moratorium on drilling.


Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said if Congress were to lift the moratorium, the program would allow the agency to start a lease sales program in the Outer Continental Shelf areas currently closed to exploration within three years.

“The American people and the president want action, and this initiative can accelerate an offshore exploration and development program that can increase production from additional domestic energy resources,” Kempthorne said.

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