自去年6月前一項(xiàng)協(xié)議到期以來，美國一直沒有國會授權(quán)的五年海上石油和天然氣拍賣計劃。
這一過程受到了石油和天然氣行業(yè)以及環(huán)保人士的密切關(guān)注。石油和天然氣行業(yè)一直在敦促政府增加租賃，以增加國內(nèi)燃料供應(yīng)，而環(huán)保人士說，油氣鉆探與抗擊氣候變化的承諾相沖突。
在去年7月公布的一項(xiàng)提案中，政府表示，下一個五年計劃將有0至11宗租賃銷售，但沒有承諾完成這一過程的時間表。
美國內(nèi)政部周一在提交給美國哥倫比亞特區(qū)上訴法院的一份文件中表示，與這個五年計劃有關(guān)的“所有必要的分析、批準(zhǔn)和強(qiáng)制性程序步驟”將在今年12月前完成。
美國石油學(xué)會(American Petroleum Institute)提起訴訟，稱美國內(nèi)政部未能最終確定海上油氣鉆探計劃，違反了法律，而美國內(nèi)政部正在為自己辯護(hù)。
美國內(nèi)政部表示，在今年年底之前，它必須審查并回應(yīng)公眾對其擬議計劃的76萬條評論，并對溫室氣體排放、租賃收益和空氣質(zhì)量等進(jìn)行分析。
擬議的最終方案預(yù)計將于9月完成，并在經(jīng)過60天的等待期后于12月獲得批準(zhǔn)。
原文如下：
US Expects to Finalize Five-year Offshore Drilling Plan in December
The Administration needs until the end of this year to finalize a long-awaited five-year plan for offshore oil and gas development in federal waters, according to court documents filed this week.
The U.S. has been without a congressionally-mandated five year schedule of offshore oil and gas auctions since the previous one expired in June 2022.
The process is being closely watched by the oil and gas industry, which has pressed for more leasing to boost domestic fuel supplies, and by environmentalists, who say drilling conflicts with President's promise to fight climate change.
In a proposal unveiled in July, the administration said the next plan would have anywhere from zero to 11 lease sales, but it did not commit to a timeline for completing the process.
It will take until December to complete "all necessary analyses, approvals, and mandatory procedural steps" related to the plan, the Interior Department said in a filing on Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Interior is defending itself in a lawsuit filed by the American Petroleum Institute alleging the agency broke the law by failing to finalize an offshore drilling plan.
Before the end of this year, Interior said it must review and respond to 760,000 public comments on its proposed plan and conduct analyses on greenhouse gas emissions, leasing benefits and air quality, among others.
The proposed final program is expected to be completed in September and approved in December following a 60-day waiting period.
