Oil and Natural Gas Policy Under a Biden Administration
Under “The Biden Plan To Build A Modern, Sustainable Infrastructure And An Equitable Clean Energy Future”, cited frequently as the $2 trillion dollar plan (“Plan”), Biden seeks to have a “carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035” and an “100% clean energy economy and reaches net-zero emissions no later than 2050” [1]. In his many speeches on the campaign trail, he has called natural gas a ‘transition fuel’ but seeks to start the transition away from natural gas to wind, solar, and other renewable options immediately. Climate change initiatives will be a top priority of the Biden Administration. Biden is likely to require every federal program, department, and agency to address climate change in some way, similar to the policies Obama had started to implement during his presidency. The Biden Administration may go further given that he is considering the creation of a separate new executive office devoted to climate change or a coordinating council on climate change. The individuals that are being considered for top positions in the Biden Administration are all supportive of aggressive climate change policies and many come from states that are known to be unfriendly to oil and gas (CA and NY). Changes will start to be implemented day one of the Administration, through the regulatory agencies and executive orders. However, Biden will be unable to seek aggressive changes that would require the support of Congress should the Republicans keep the Senate, including nominating individuals seen as more extreme with regard to environmental policies, who would be unable to be confirmed by the Senate. Biden could surprise people and prove to be capable of making deals in the Senate like he was known to do as a Senator.
Specific items you likely will see with a Biden Administration:
Rejoining of the Paris climate agreement
Executive orders and regulations immediately implementing policies to reduce methane emissions, including from existing sources (this will impact your low producing wells)
An aggressive plug and abandon program, possibly to help keep the union workers employed, since Biden will overturn the approval for the Keystone pipeline (and the Dakota Access pipeline but that is already built) and other pipelines currently seeking permit approval (Biden’s Plan says he will create 250,000 jobs through plugging and abandoning the several million oil and gas wells that are unplugged, orphaned, and abandoned across the country)
Reversal of the executive orders that address streamlining approvals for the fossil fuels industry and any environmental policies put in place under the Trump Administration through an executive orders early in the Administration (first couple days)
Signing an executive order to mandate that every agency in the government incorporate climate change into its policies
Reverse the compensatory mitigation opinion of Interior and mitigation policies of the Trump Administration and again require compensatory mitigation on federal lands
Slow or stop new lease sales (either by leasing acreage no companies would consider and/or death by deferral of leases as they did in the Obama Administration) or implement a moratorium while they conduct a programmatic environmental impact statement, similar to what the Obama Administration did with coal
Review and consider changes to the automatic renewal terms for Applications for Permit to Drill
Ban hydraulic fracturing on federal lands and waters or again place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing while they conduct a programmatic review of the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing on federal lands
Rollback of the changes to the Endangered Species Act regulations and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act regulations
The potential for listing the Greater-sage Grouse will become an issue again because it is up for its five year review this year
Withdrawn of the de-listing decision for the gray wolf
Rollback of the WOTUS regulation
Review and possibly requiring disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions throughout entire supply chains (could actually help oil and gas compete with renewables if they are forced to do the same)
Focus on securing conservation easements in order to fulfill his promise to conserve 30% of US lands and waters by 2030 (interested to see if this would include surface disturbance from wind and solar)
Potential to move the BLM headquarters back to Washington from Grand Junction
Rollback of the recently finalized NEPA regulations, requiring the evaluation of direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts and the impacts of climate change (greenhouse gas emissions)
Potential appointments:
Department of Interior: Senator Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico
Environmental Protection Agency: Mary D. Nichols, California’s climate and clean air regulator (architect of CA’s cap-and-trade climate change law and its regulations on auto emissions)
Climate Advisor to the President: Ali Zaidi, a former climate adviser in the Obama White House who now serves as deputy secretary of energy in New York state
Department of Transportation: Eric M. Garcetti , Mayor of Los Angeles (introduced a plan to transition LA to 100 percent electric vehicles by 2050 last year)
Department of Energy: Arun Majumdar, who is a scientist
[1] https://joebiden.com/clean-energy/#
