The move leaves the industry in limbo, according to Fitch Solutions. The cancellation of lease sales 258 (Cook Inlet) and 259, 261 (Gulf of Mexico) that were planned under the 2017-2022 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program elevates regulatory uncertainty for oil and gas investors. That’s what Dominika Rzechorzek, an oil and gas analyst at Fitch Solutions, told Rigzone, adding that the move leaves the industry in limbo as the new five-year leasing program has not been published yet, “despite the rapidly approaching deadline of June 30”. “Thus, it remains uncertain if and when the Department of Interior (DOI) will hold future offshore leasing auctions,” Rzechorzek said. The Fitch Solutions analyst noted that the suspension of offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico will have much broader implications as compared to the Cook Inlet lease sale, “given the much stronger interest in the acreage off […]