Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Butler on July 31, 2016 at 4:49am

The US Bureau of Land Management is making a bigger push into the 21st century by speeding up permitting for oil and gas drilling on federal land and Native American land by requiring drilling applications to be filed in a new, online system.

According to a report by the Associated Press, US officials announced plans Thursday to help reduce costs for companies and streamline the drilling approval process. Applications were projected to be down 40 percent against their historic average as low energy prices continue to curtail energy exploration and drive down revenue, the report says.

Speaking to AP, bureau spokeswoman Beverly Winston said the average time for drilling applications to be completed was 220 days. The new, online-only permitting system would allow 90 percent of these applications to be completed within 115 days and called it a big improvement over the current hard-copy system.

While the report notes that industry representatives have welcomed the idea of making permitting more efficient, Western Energy Alliance representative Kathleen Sgamma was skeptical that the system would save time.

“Generally companies avoid public lands if they can, because they know there’s no certainty on getting through all the leasing,” Sgamma said in the report.

• ▶ Reply