API finally filed a lawsuit against Team Biden - August 17

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The American Petroleum Institute and 11 other energy industry trade groups Monday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior’s indefinite pause on oil and natural gas leasing on federal lands and waters. “With the indefinite pause on federal oil and gas leasing, the department failed to satisfy procedural requirements and ignored congressional mandates for holding lease sales,” API Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer Paul Afonso said. “The law is clear: the department must hold lease sales and provide a justification for significant policy changes. They have yet to meet these requirements in the eight months since instituting a federal leasing pause.”

From Bloomberg: Biden to resume leasing as appeal unfolds
The Biden administration is appealing a federal judge’s ruling against its oil leasing moratorium and deepening government scrutiny of the activity it blames for fanning climate change, even as it promises to resume auctions. The moves, announced by the Interior Department in an emailed statement Monday, mark the beginning of an open-ended analysis of the federal oil, gas and coal leasing programs that could span years -- and lead to higher fees as well as new limits on development in sensitive areas.