House Natural Resources Committee Passes Rep. Hageman’s Mineral Leasing Bill

Washington, DC – Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources advanced Rep. Hageman’s bill, H.R. 7375, which reforms the way in which expression of interest (EOI) fees are assessed under the Mineral Leasing Act. Under this bill, operators will not have to pay EOI fees unless the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holds a lease sale for the parcel of interest. In addition, it would extend an EOI’s validity from three to five years.

Rep. Hageman stated, “I am proud of the important step taken today to fight back against Biden’s war on fossil fuels, restore fairness in our mineral leasing process and encourage the BLM to resume their duty of issuing leases. Operators should not be forced to fund the BLM through EOI fees for leases they are not awarded, and the BLM should not be paid if they continue to refuse to do their job as assigned by Congress. By adjusting the way in which these fees are assessed and extending the active period for EOIs, we will provide a more level playing field for our fossil fuel operators and provide yet another incentive to ensure the BLM resumes its duty to issue leases.”

House Natural Resources Chairman, Rep. Bruce Westerman said, “H.R. 7375 brings changes to the Expression of Interest fee collection process and ensures accountability for successful bidders. These reforms simplify processes and promote responsible energy production, something that’s desperately needed under the Biden administration. Representative Hageman has been a tireless leader for energy security on our committee, and I look forward to continuing to work with her to move this bill through the legislative process.”

Background:

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, operators must pay a nonrefundable fee of $5.00 per acre included an expression of interest (EOI) for oil and gas leases at the time the EOI is submitted. These EOI fees must be submitted regardless of whether an operator is awarded the lease, and a 2022 announcement by the Bureau of Land Management will force all pending EOIs to expire every 3 years, potentially forcing operators to continually resubmit acreage and repay EOI fees every 3 years if leases are not awarded by the BLM. Under current law, the BLM is not obligated to offer a lease sale of the selected acreage, a scenario which has become increasingly common under the Biden Administration.

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Contact: Chris Berardi, Sr. Advisor/Communications Director