On November 31, 2022, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued an Instruction Memorandum on the “Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act […] to the Oil and Natural Gas Leasing Program.” The guidance explains how BLM will implement changes made to its oil and gas leasing program made in the IRA, including:
- the requirement that BLM collect a fee on all expressions of interest submitted by potential lessees;
- the termination of the BLM’s authority to issue leases on a non-competitive basis; and
- the requirement that BLM increase rents and royalties on competitive leases.