The U.S. Holds Its First Oil And Gas Lease Sale Since IRA Was Passed

The U.S. Department of the Interior is holding on Thursday the first lease sales for oil and gas drilling rights since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) came into effect. The IRA included congressional direction on oil and gas leasing through the Act if federal rights of way are offered for renewable energy projects.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have taken steps to comply with the provision that the Interior should carry out some lease sales. On Thursday, a modest lease sale of parcels in New…