House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) issued the following statement in reaction to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) release of data concerning oil and gas leasing on federal lands under the Obama administration:

“Production on federal lands was all but impossible under the Obama administration from the layers of additional red tape to the dwindling number of leases offered year after year. These numbers reflect steadfast efforts by the Obama administration to squelch responsible energy development.

“We will work with President Trump and his team to turn the page and support American families through a more robust, diverse and affordable domestic energy supply.”    

According to BLM’s figures, FY2016 reflected the lowest total amount of leased acreage for the years statistically available, since 1988. From the end of FY2008 to FY2016, the total amount of leased acreage fell by 20 million from 47.2 to 27.2 million acres, and the amount of applications for permit to drill approved annually fell from 6,617 to 2,184.