Oil and gas leasing programs could get slashed if Congress doesn’t stop automatic, across-the-board spending cuts set to begin March 1, a top congressional Democrat warned Tuesday.  More »

A top Senate Democrat on Thursday told federal regulators not to shy away from tough requirements in a rule being drafted to tighten standards for drilling on public lands.  More »

Oil and gas development on public lands is edging out public conservation under President Barack Obama, former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said Tuesday.  More »

In response to criticism from both the oil industry and environmentalists, the Obama administration is scrapping a 2012 plan to impose tough new mandates governing drilling on public lands.  More »

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will leave his post in March with a mixed legacy on energy development, having approved the nation’s first major wind and solar installations on federal lands, but drawing fire from energy companies for “sluggish” permitting of oil and gas projects on U.S. property.  More »

The White House on Tuesday pushed back against the oil and gas industry’s claims that the Obama administration is blocking domestic energy development, releasing a new analysis showing that 46 million acres of federal lands and waters leased for drilling are sitting idle.  More »

The Obama administration unveiled a proposed rule that would force companies to reveal the chemicals they use when drilling for oil and natural gas on public lands. But the long-anticipated regulation includes a major concession to oil and gas companies, by allowing those disclosures to happen after a well is drilled and the chemicals are pumped underground — not a month beforehand, as federal regulators had originally considered.  More »

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar got a close-up look at oil drilling in the booming Bakken formation Monday and Tuesday, as his department prepares to unveil new rules for wells on federal lands.  More »

The Obama administration will announce plans Tuesday to speed up the review process for oil and gas companies seeking to drill on U.S. lands. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is set to tout the change as he finishes a two-day tour of booming oil and gas exploration in North Dakota.  More »

The Obama administration is carefully writing new rules to govern hydraulic fracturing on public lands to make sure they don’t impede the development of America’s promising natural gas supplies, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar insisted today.  More »

The government is on track to impose new mandates on natural gas wells located on public lands early next year, with requirements for stepped-up disclosure of chemicals in hydraulic fracturing fluids, detailed plans for dealing with water at the sites and stiffer standards governing well integrity.  More »

The federal government raked in $240 million leasing public lands for oil and gas exploration during the fiscal year that ends this Friday — with much of the revenue coming from the booming Bakken formation.  More »