Biden administration approves limited development of Alaska's Willow oil project

[Celerity]

34. Manchin slams Biden's 'radical climate agenda' in delay of oil leasing

The Interior Department says it cannot finish a new offshore plan until December, a delay that has again angered the senator from West Virginia

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/03/08/offshore-oil-drilling-biden-manchin/



HOUSTON — In his latest clash with the White House, Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) sharply criticized the Biden administration Wednesday for delays on a new federal offshore drilling plan that the Interior Department says it needs until December to put into effect. Manchin — an oil industry advocate who has been key to supporting Biden policies in a narrowly divided Congress — has recently pushed back against the administration for its appointments and its implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, including on how it affects oil and natural gas leasing in Alaska.

In court documents this week, Interior Department officials argue that they need the rest of this year to finish a legally required five-year plan to lease offshore territory for oil and gas development. The plan is months behind deadlines set in law, but in a federal appeals court brief Monday, department officials said they need the extra time to review public comments and complete other legally required analyses on a proposal issued last summer.

Manchin says the delays pose a risk to steady domestic supplies of oil and natural gas. He accused the administration of slow-walking a new plan as part of its push against fossil fuels. He also said the administration was failing to meet legal requirements that every other administration has met to have a new five-year offshore leasing plan in place before the prior plan expired.

“They are putting their radical climate agenda ahead of our nation’s energy security, and they are willing to go to great lengths to do it,” Manchin said in a news release Wednesday. “I will hold their feet to the fire on this.” An Interior Department spokeswoman declined to respond to Manchin’s comments.

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Joe Manchin’s ties to Big Oil under renewed scrutiny after chief of staff leaves for job with lobbying group

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-manchin-api-oil-industry-b2261991.html

Joe Manchin’s connections to the oil and gas industry are no secret. The West Virginia senator is among the leading recipients of donations from fossil fuel companies in Congress, and he still has substantial interests in a coal brokerage firm that he co-founded and which is now owned by his son. But those ties are under renewed scrutiny following the announcement on Friday that his chief of staff, Lance West, is leaving his office for the top lobbying job at the American Petroleum Institute, a group that represents oil and gas interests.

“Lance joins API at a critical time for our industry,” API president and chief executive officer Mike Sommers said in a statement, which was reported by Axios. “His position on Capitol Hill placed him at the center of some of our country’s more important legislative debates, and his deep relationships on both sides of the aisle will be a tremendous asset to our organization and the industry we serve,” the statement added.

The move by one of Mr Manchin’s closest advisers has been seized upon as further evidence of the influence of the oil and gas industry on Congress. The Washington Post described it as “[m]ore evidence of the revolving-door phenomenon on Capitol Hill” — a reference to the common practice of lobby groups hiring the staff of politicians that they formerly lobbied, and vice versa.

According to data compiled by OpenSecrets, more than 60 per cent of oil and gas lobbyists working in Washington, DC have previously worked for the federal government in some capacity. Last year, the door swung the other way when Mr Manchin hired a natural gas industry lobbyist, C.J. Osman, from the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, to work on the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which he is chair.

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