Judge Halts Gulf Lease Over Threat to Endangered Whale
A federal judge has temporarily blocked an offshore oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana, citing insufficient consideration for the endangered Rice’s whale.
The decision, handed down by a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., requires the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to carry out further environmental analysis before the lease sale can move forward. While the ruling doesn’t cancel the sale outright, it effectively pauses it until additional assessments are completed.
At the heart of the ruling is the Rice’s whale, a critically endangered species that inhabits only the Gulf of Mexico. Identified as a distinct species only in recent years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that as few as 51 individuals remain in the wild.
These whales face a particularly high risk of being struck by vessels due to their behavior of resting near the ocean’s surface, making them difficult to detect. Despite this, BOEM previously declined to implement suggested measures such as slowing vessel speeds and maintaining a 500-meter buffer in areas where Rice’s whales are known to be present.
In addition to concerns over the whales, the court found that BOEM had failed to adequately assess the broader climate implications of the proposed lease sale, including the greenhouse gas emissions tied to future drilling operations in the region.
The legal challenge was initiated in 2023 by a coalition of environmental groups, including Healthy Gulf, Bayou City Waterkeeper, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club.
These same organizations have also contested Gulf lease sale 261, held in December 2023, arguing it too failed to meet environmental review standards. A ruling on that case is still pending.
Scott Lauermann, spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, criticized the court’s decision, stating: “yet another example of activists weaponizing the National Environmental Policy Act process in the courts to block critical access for exploration, underscoring how permitting reform is essential to ensuring access to affordable, reliable energy.”
The Biden administration generally took steps to curb offshore oil and gas development, including issuing executive orders during the president’s first term to limit drilling in federal waters.
President Donald Trump, on the other hand, has promised to reverse those restrictions and expand fossil fuel production under the banner of “unleashing American energy.”
The Gulf of Mexico remains a central focus in the energy debate, as it accounts for approximately 97% of all offshore oil and gas output in the United States.