Petroleum Association of Wyoming Joins Lawsuit to Fight Biden’s Lease Ban

The Petroleum Association of Wyoming (PAW) has signed on as one of the joint petitioners in a lawsuit that fights President Joe Biden’s executive order halting any new federal land leases for gas and oil drilling. Western Energy Alliance initiated the lawsuit (WEA) targets Executive Order #14008. It was filed in the U.S. District Court in Wyoming.

As BLM (Bureau of Land Management) failed to hold the first quarter lease sale, PAW decided to throw the weight behind the challenge. The Communications Director at Petroleum Association of Wyoming, Ryan McConnaughey, told The Center Square they believe the administration’s decisions will be displaying real impact on the state of Wyoming. He claims that the administration likes to talk about this idea. The executive order is harmless, yet they have already seen that this most recent lease sale was canceled. Based on averages over the last six years, the lease was expected to Wyoming schools to be about $4 million.

In a news release, Petroleum Association of Wyoming President Pete Obermueller said that $4 million is enough money so that an entire year of education for 220 Wyoming children calling the harmless narrative false, can be funded. WEA President Kathleen Sgamma said that she was happy with the joining of PAW along their side.

In a release, Sgamma said that they filed in Wyoming as it has the largest amount of federal acreage under the lease, and now they also have the home team assembled. The interlocking land ownership in Wyoming has made it nearly impossible to develop oil and natural gas in the state without touching any federal lands or minerals.