Biden Shrinks U.S. Land Open for New Oil and Gas Drilling (1)

President Joe Biden’s administration is dramatically curtailing U.S. public land available for new oil and gas development as it restarts leasing with new environmental protections.

The shift is part of a Bureau of Land Management plan to resume selling drilling rights on government-managed federal lands concentrated in the western U.S. When the government holds those auctions, expected later this year, roughly 80% less land will be available for oil and gas leasing, the Interior Department said.

Energy companies also will be forced to pay higher royalties for the oil and gas they extract from the newly leased land.

The ...