American oil industry groups are spouting off against US President Joe Biden’s move to restrict oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico to protect a rare whale species..The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which oversees oil and gas development in federal waters, late on Monday expanded protections for the endangered Rice’s whale, which is found only in the Gulf of Mexico. Fewer than 100 of the creatures are believed to exist.. Rice’s WhaleThe Rice’s whale has limited geographic range In the Gulf of Mexico. .Among the restrictions are speed restrictions, transit limits at night and making some areas completely off limits to any industrial activity or shipping. The moves affect a wide variety of vessels including oil and gas rigs and support ships..The move had been expected by industry groups, who were outraged just the same. They accused Biden of backtracking on promises to open the Gulf to leasing as a compromise for passage of his signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and justifying it with quack science.."This decision by the Biden Administration does an end-around legal requirements and the public process, imposing unwarranted restrictions on US energy production at a time of continued inflation with prices rising at the pump for consumers," said National Ocean Industries Association President Erik Milito..Expanding the Rice’s whale habitat to include areas where there is only a negligible or no presence at all will dilute conservation resources that should be going towards protecting actual habitat, he added..“‘Sue-and-settle’ or ’regulation by litigation’ fails to respect both environmental preservation and the economic vitality that the energy sector supports,” he said..Last month the National Marine Fisheries Service settled with a coalition of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, in Maryland federal court to halt ongoing litigation.. Rice’s whale rangeRice’s whales are restricted to a limited range in the southern US Gulf. .The American Petroleum Institute (API), National Ocean Industries Association and EnerGeo Alliance immediately issued a statement blasting the settlement. In its own statement, the API criticized the move for increasing safety risks, among others..“The recommended actions are not justified by existing data nor operational experience, would impose significant burdens on the men and women currently working in the region, and unfairly single out oil and gas traffic in an area that is one of the most used maritime areas in US waters,” it said. .The API was formed in 1919 as a standards-setting organization and has developed more than 800 standards to enhance operational and environmental safety, efficiency and sustainability..According to the US government’s Energy Information Administration, Gulf of Mexico federal waters account for 15% of total US crude oil production and 5% of offshore natural gas output. More than 47% of total US petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf coast, as well as 51% of total US natural gas processing plant capacity..Rice’s whales are the only species of baleen whale that don’t migrate. Not much is known about them and they were declared a distinct subspecies only in 2021..Although they are believed to have once had a larger range extending down to Mexico, at present they are only found in a small area of the outer continental shelf. .Their limited range and distribution is thought to be the result of inbreeding and habitat loss due to environmental factors including, but not restricted to, climate change..According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration they are susceptible to vessel strikes, ocean noise, plastic debris and fish net entanglement.
