Utah Oil and Gas Lease Dismissal Causes Fallout in Senate
Senate Republicans blocked President Obama’s nominee for deputy Interior Secretary in a statement of opposition to interior secretary Ken Salazar's cancellation of oil and gas leases in Utah.
David J. Hayes received 57 votes in all, less than the 60 votes needed to move to a final vote. Republicans confirmed they would vote against him to make a statement showing they were opposed to the cancellation of the Utah oil and gas leases. They explained the rejection had nothing to do with Hayes himself. Republicans, including Senator Robert F. Bennett of Utah, are united in their opposition to Hayes' nomination. They insist that the lease options for the oil and gas drilling in Utah should have gone ahead as planned. Last year, the Bush administration auctioned off leases when it was just six weeks away from vacating the White house.
Democrats promised to bring the nomination to the floor again next week when they are confident it will go through.
Senator Bennett has been the rallying force behind the opposition to Hayes. According to the Senator, although he believes Hayes is qualified for the job, he wants the Interior Department to review its decision to cancel the oil and gas leases before he drops his objection to the nomination.
Meanwhile, there is more trouble for Secretary Salazar over his decision to revoke the oil and gas leases. Carbon, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties filed suit against Salazar in Salt Lake City, claiming that they stand to lose millions of dollars in oil and gas royalties from his decision to revoke the lease.
In addition to the three counties, three drilling companies - Impact Energy Resources LLC, Questar Exploration & Production Company, and Peak Royalty Holdings LLC filed a separate lawsuit against Salazar. Lawyers for the drilling companies claim the secretary was misinformed, and none of the pieces of land are closer than 15.5 miles to a national park. Also, Questar is disputing claims made by environmentalists that the drilling would encroach on wild areas.
With Salazar’s office insisting he will review his decision only when his deputy is confirmed, and Republicans insisting Salazar must review the decision before Hayes is confirmed, they are stuck at a stalemate. Oil and gas attorneys have been following the confirmation proceedings with interest, and will wait to see who blinks first.
The Bush Administration auctioned off oil and gas leases along Alaska’s coast which, according to geological estimates, could contain up to 19 billion barrels of oil. That is more than the reserves of Mexico, Nigeria, and Kazakhstan combined.
The bidders, some of whom paid high prices for the valuable leases, were, predictably, not pleased when the 77 leases were revoked back in December. Now, they are taking concrete steps to get back their lease. At least a dozen of the bidders have filed appeals with the Interior Board of Land Appeals. The Interior Secretary's office is not making the process easy for the bidders, however. Salazar's decision cannot be appealed to the board, it appears, and the Interior Secretary's office has asked the bidders to take their cases to a federal court.