The Trump administration is moving ahead with oil and gas lease sales in four Western states beginning on Tuesday, bucking criticism from taxpayer advocates who say the auctions should be postponed because of a meltdown in energy prices.
The Bureau of Land Management is offering more than 210,000 acres for leasing via online auctions in Wyoming, Nevada and Montana on Tuesday, and Colorado on Thursday.The largest sale is for 105 parcels covering 118,292 acres in Wyoming, the top U.S. state for gas production on federal lands and the second-biggest for oil production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Drilling on federal lands is a crucial part of President Donald Trump's"energy dominance" agenda to maximize domestic production of fossil fuels. But the industry is in crisis as countries including the United States take unprecedented steps to contain the coronavirus pandemic that has curbed demand for products such as gasoline and jet fuel.