The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has rescinded the Record of Decision for the oil and gas lease Gulf of Mexico planned for March, effectively canceling this auction as part of the Biden Administration’s review of new drilling activities on federal land and in offshore waters. The lease sale would have offered 78.2 million acres for a region-wide Gulf of Mexico lease in March 2021, or 14,594 unleased blocks – all of the available unleased areas in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. However, President Joe Biden directed in an executive order last month the Secretary of the Interior to pause new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or in offshore waters pending completion of a comprehensive review and reconsideration of Federal oil and gas permitting and leasing practices. “Cancelling this huge offshore Gulf oil auction helps protect our climate and life on Earth. President […]